Hell Still Waits
by Ally Todd
Summary: Maybe Seifer Almasy did deserve to go to hell but he wasn't in any hurry to embrace it and he would fight to his last breath to avoid it. He was no Sorceress' Knight, young revolutionary or aspiring SeeD cadet. He was Seifer Almasy and he would fight his past to the death until it killed him. Contains strong language, violence and scenes of torture.
1. Chapter 1

**Opening Note**

Okay, I obviously have to explain myself for this, so here goes nothing. Most of you who are reading this will no doubt be aware on some level that I wrote a massive three part follow up to Final Fantasy Eight, entitled Doomsday and while I am very proud of it's existence I have an abiding sense that it wasn't quite my finest work. I am unable to call the sixteen months and half a million words of Doomsday a failure but the fact remains that there are a few things about Doomsday that the OCD part of my addled, scattershot, whiskey soaked brain cannot let go and I will endeavour to list them here and hopefully explain what I'm trying to achieve.

Point One: The whole thing is riddled with typos and endless inconsistencies that I cannot go back and correct. I am a crazed perfectionist so it drives me completely insane and I will not be able to rest until I have redeemed myself or rectified the aforementioned mistakes.

Point Two: The original characters were way too important to the overall arc and the more and more I wrote the more and more it became a story centred around Dante's insane quest for revenge on the Obsidian family. I wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to say that the storylines surrounding Squall, Rinoa and Seifer were downgraded to sideshows.

Point Three: The main antagonist was always supposed to be Satan but as a villain he was woefully underdeveloped and he didn't seem to have much of an agenda other than being gibbering insane and wanting to watch the world burn like Kefka. My opinion of Final Fantasy villains is that they will always be compared to a certain murder prone, cross dressing, self-delusional, schizophrenic megalomaniac with a fifteen foot katana sword and an Oedipus complex and Satan most certainly didn't deliver on that front.

Point Four: I took way too much from other franchises. In particular, the Obsidian family were a thinly veiled rip off of the Mikaelson family from The Vampire Diaries. You might also think I stole the idea of a cure for vampires from the same place but I had that idea for years and when the Vampire Diaries brought it up I went mental.

Those are the main niggles I have with Doomsday but don't get me wrong, I am still incredibly proud of it and I cannot believe I got it done. Still, I do not think I did the fandom justice and I'm not entirely sure if I ever will, thanks to my obsessive perfectionist persona. That will not stop me trying though. One thing in particular was that I didn't devote as much time to the rehabilitation of a certain Seifer Almasy as I would've liked, once again the responsibility falls squarely around the shoulders of the Skyle brothers. What's more, I didn't know from day to day where Doomsday was going and I was more or less making it up as I went along. There, I said it.

I also suspect, though I'll have my work cut out proving it that the romance between Mika and Rinoa may have put a number of people off and I can totally understand why. The source material was focused not around saving the world but instead the central love story between Squall and Rinoa. Compared to that the whole Ultimecia incident was small potatoes. I stand by my opinion of Mika and Rinoa, they were a good couple but Squall was Rinoa's soul mate. As for Mika, no matter how close he and Rinoa got he would always play second fiddle to Squall, and quite rightly so.

No more vampires. What was I thinking, jumping on the Twilight bandwagon when I hate the franchise and pretty much everything it stands for? I had to show that there was a reason Dante, Mika and the Obsidian family could stand against SeeD but why didn't I just make the Skyle brothers ex-Special Forces servicemen from Galbadia, Esthar or Dollet? With hindsight, that's what I should've done. After all, the closest thing we had in the game to a vampire was probably Diablos or the Drain spell. Don't get me wrong, I think it has its place but not in Final Fantasy. Sure, I will address magic and Guardian Forces but I like to lend a little realism to my work and bringing in vampires and a demon apocalypse does not say realism to me.

So what do I have planned? Well I'm glad you asked. Let me just say that this is in no way a "directors cut" of Doomsday. This is a totally new work that I'm building from the ground up. In fact the only similarities with Doomsday is that it will take place a few years after the end of the game and will focus a lot on the rehabilitation of Seifer Almasy, who is by far the most intriguing character in the game, if not the series. This is what one might call an alternative idea of what happened next. You can choose whether you prefer this effort or Doomsday. I will have to bring up a couple of original characters to fill the shoes of villains but otherwise the only OC's on the side of the light will be supporting characters at the very most. The heroes of this particular endeavour are Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and (given a boatload of time) Seifer.

That said, there will be the odd OC popping up as they are a good way to stamp my own style on the world of FF8. They will not be as important or pivotal as the Skyle brothers (and if they are you can rest assured something has gone badly wrong) but they will get some time to shine or be very, very evil. Seeing as this is AU in relation to Doomsday, Edea is still alive so if you're a fan of hers this is the place for you. For those of you who don't know, I have served overseas with the British Army as a sniper in the Parachute Regiment 2 Battalion and I hope to draw on my own experiences in combat so you can be sure that certain parts of this work are as true to life as they come. Others, not so much and that leads me into my next point.

One thing I was glad to see the last of when playing the game was Rinoa's frankly ridiculous Limit Break Combine (especially when Angelo managed to demolish Omega Weapon. I had a plan, and then that stupid dog turns up and throws a monkey wrench into the works). I could go into my reasons for hating it but that's a rant for another day. The only time you'll see Angelo will be as Rinoa's faithful pet. The days of Combine are well and truly over. The days of Angel Wing are here. While I'm on the subject I love Angel Wing, especially during my second play through. You see, I was battering True Ultimecia before she dropped Hell's Judgement on Zell, Squall and Rinoa. Squall didn't make it and when I used Angel Wing it was a lot like Rinoa going insane with revenge. In spite of my irrational hatred of Rinoa at that point I felt that it was just right that she should drop super powered Meteor Spells on the unfortunate target.

Now, updates. When I was writing Doomsday I decided that one read through was enough to edit it but I was very wrong, and that led to a mountain of typos and inconsistencies. So in order to avoid the same result I will not post a chapter until I'm as close to one hundred percent happy with it as it's possible to get. That means that updates will not be as frequent as they were with Doomsday but I promise that if you exercise some patience it will be rewarded. There are two fics in particular I want this effort to stand alongside (though I suspect it's an impossible dream) and they are "Phoenix"by Bebedora and "The Legacy of the Chimera" by Peptuck. If you haven't read them I highly, highly recommend them. They are about as different as two fics can be but they are both excellent.

Now for a warning. I am aware that quite a few kids have read my work and I am thrilled they do but I'd prefer if they didn't read this one. This is because the characters are a violent lot and most of them use adult language. I didn't ask them to do so; they just went ahead and did. If you are under the age of fifteen or so and are compelled to read anyway, all I ask is that you tutor yourself in the art of internet history manipulation because I don't want angry dads turning up on my doorstep and kicking my head in for corrupting their little darlings. Actually, now I think on it I feel a great swell of pity for someone turning up looking for trouble given my career path and the skills I've picked up over the last few years. On that enigmatic note…

I do not own anything. Final Fantasy Eight and all associated characters, locations and concepts belong to SquareEnix (formerly) Squaresoft.

Lucky bastards.


	2. Chapter 2

**Natural Selection**

The young man with the long blonde hair booted the fire door of the condemned building in downtown Esthar open and limped in and over to the lifts. He jabbed the call button and tried to annoy the mocking laughter coming from a knot of youths hanging in the hall and smoking. After about a minute, during which the lift obstinately refused to appear the man decided he was tired.

"What's the joke?" He demanded his voice hoarse and cracked from prolonged lack of use.

"The lifts broke, mate." One of the youths informed him before laughing again, setting off his cronies.

The blonde haired man simply shrugged and headed for the stairs. As he passed the youth who'd spoken he lashed out, driving his elbow into his face, permanently flattening the bridge of his nose in the process. The youth was bounced back against the wall and he collapsed, cupping his face and moaning in pain. As he reached the stairs he turned and looked back at the shocked smokers.

"No one likes a smart-arse." He said before heading up to the third floor.

Seifer Almasy, former Sorceress' Knight turned young revolutionary turned fugitive fished a key from his back pocket and slid it into the padlock that held the chain which secured the door. He pulled the door open and then chained the door closed before opening a semi-shattered cabinet and pulling out a bottle of bourbon. He wrenched the cork out with his teeth, spat it across the room and took a long pull.

Life on the run didn't suit Seifer. His crusaders trench coat was now tattered almost beyond repair and he wore it more out if habit than need. His other clothes were caked in blood, mud and were generally filthy. His blond hair had grown longer and the only way he'd had it cut in the last four years was with a combat knife and his face bore a five o' clock shadow. His green eyes still bore the old fanatical fire but it was noticeably subdued and they were ringed with dark circles and there were more bags under them than in most supermarkets.

However Seifer was fairly sure that he'd look worse if any of the four parties interested in his capture were to get their hands on him. If Trabia got a hold of him he suspected he'd probably end up on the wrong end of a lynch mob after the missile strike on his orders. Esthar would crucify him thanks to his little stunt with the "ancient building sized doomsday weapon" the Lunatic Pandora and the less Seifer thought about what Galbadia would do to him, the better. Then there was Balamb Garden. The more Seifer thought about it (and that was pretty much all he did nowadays) the more he became sure he'd take the lynch mob if he had a choice. It'd be slightly less painful than being crucified, considerably less painful than an appointment with Galbadia's professional torturers and astronomically less painful than entrusting himself to Squall Leonhart's tender mercies. He suspected Squall wouldn't be pleased to see him after Seifer tried to kill him multiple times, ordered a missile strike on his home, handed his helpless girlfriend over to Sorceress Adel and generally made a genocide focal nuisance of himself.

Seifer was jerked out of his reverie by a knocking on the door. It was probably a lackey or security guard working for whoever owned this pointless excuse for a building. He was wrong. The youths from earlier were waiting for him, brandishing an assortment of knives and bats. They obviously hadn't recognised him, otherwise they would've thought twice about tangling with someone wanted by various governments for murder, high treason, terrorism, genocide, war crimes, grand larceny (larceny didn't come grander than the Lunatic Pandora) and tax evasion. Seifer dismissed the latter as "a long story".

"Hey you!" The leader of the youth's challenged him, his nose still bleeding copiously as he brandished a large meat cleaver. "Who's the smart-arse now?"

Seifer didn't reply, instead he pulled out a silenced Micro Uzi machine pistol from his jacket and expertly flicked the safety catch to full automatic. Then he sprayed the youth's legs and feet. They all collapsed with screams and groans and Seifer picked up a wooden cricket bat. He smashed it against the wall and tossed it into a fireplace before frisking his victims, gaining a number of mobile phones he could sell, wallets, cigarettes, matches and small bag of cannabis resin. Then he resolutely closed the door, pulled his armchair closer to the fireplace and set the remains of the cricket bat on fire. The youths were still rolling around outside in varying degrees of agony.

"Shut up out there!" Seifer called ominously. "Or I'll come out and shut you up myself and believe me it won't be pleasant."

They obviously heeded his warning and the groans and expressions of pain faded away as they dragged themselves off down the hall. There was a chance they'd go running to the police once their legs healed but he doubted the police would even believe that they'd been shot by a fugitive with a machine pistol, bullet wounds or not. They'd probably figure that the youths tried to screw over a local dealer and couldn't care less. It wasn't like Seifer wouldn't be able to escape if the police showed up and that would be an easy excuse for him to move on. He'd heard that Dollet was nice at this time of the year and they weren't actually looking for him. That had to be a plus. What he would actually do there remained ambiguous. His little fishing trip with Fujin and Raijin before he'd left them (to protect them he maintained) had convinced him he didn't have the patience to be a fisherman and if he tried to join an army a background check would probably ring every alarm bell going. Even if they weren't looking for him he doubted they'd be pleased to see him. He was only a few steps away from becoming a full scale Ant-Christ for heaven's sake.

The night wound on and Seifer opened a second bottle of whisky. Four years of living off whisky and any edible monsters he could find (which wasn't a lot) had blessed him with an extremely high tolerance for alcohol and it took a lot to get drunk. Surprisingly enough he could still remember the first time he'd gotten drunk. He'd been sixteen and he'd been running around nude and trying to kiss street furniture until he fell into a drainage channel and broke his wrist. He probably would've found it funny had Zell Dincht not caught the whole incident on camera and posted it on the Garden web site. The martial artist hadn't stopped there and he'd picked the lock on Seifer's dorm room and drawn crude illustrations of genitalia all over the plaster cast. Seifer almost smiled at the memory of the martial artist's twisted definition of "high jinks". Almost being the operative word.

It was just gone midnight when the last embers of the fire died and Seifer decided it was best to get some sleep. He was just about the pull of his jacket when his soldier's intuition tingled. Seifer looked around the room but he could see nothing out of place. Then he heard the creak of the floor boards outside his door. He whirled towards the sound but before he could do anything he held an ominous and totally unmistakeable sound. It was the sound of a shotgun being pumped.

As Seifer seized his Uzi and readied the Hyperion the hinges and the lock on the door were shot away and the door was kicked in. A Galbadian soldier entered dressed in the armour and jumpsuit worn by their serviceman. There was one noticeable difference however and it was a difference that chilled Seifer to the bone. The soldier's jumpsuit was not the blue worn by regular troops and it wasn't the red worn by officers. It wasn't even the green worn by Galbadian's feared paratroopers. The jumpsuit was black marking this man out as a member of the infamous Dragon Squadron.

The Dragon Squadron were the best of the best in the vast Galbadian military. They were a ruthless Special Forces team who specialised in counter terrorism, hostage release and sabotage to name just a few of their areas of expertise. They were also well known for being one of the only forces in the world on level pegging with SeeD Special Forces.

Despite knowing who he was up against were the best, Seifer wasn't going to come quietly. He knew the soldier would be wearing body armour so as the man advanced into the room Seifer swung the Hyperion in an arc before casting a Flare spell on the soldier. Despite the fact that Flare was little more than a glorified Firaga there was enough power behind it to blast the soldier through the door and send him clattering into his fellows. They lost a few seconds as they disentangled themselves and Seifer took full advantage. The walls in this building had never been particularly well constructed in the first place and years of damp had weakened them even further. Seifer shoulder barged the wall and crashed straight through, into the next apartment. He waved jauntily to a couple busy shagging in the corner before smashing through the next wall until he reached the apartment nearest the stairwell. He kicked the door open and started downwards before coming face to face with another four man squad of commandos. He kicked the nearest in the chest, before immediately heading upwards. If he could get to the roof he could maybe leap to an adjacent building.

When Seifer reached the roof he immediately realised this was not going to happen. The Dragon Squadron had sharpshooters positioned on each adjacent rooftop. Seifer got a sinking feeling, no doubt owing to the laser sights playing across his chest. The door behind him exploded open and more commandos spilled out, each of the armed with Heckler and Koch UMP .45 sub machine guns; one of the worlds best assault weapons, also used by SeeD and Dollet Special Forces.

"Give it up!" One of the commandos yelled as he advanced, eyeing Seifer through his sights. "You're outnumbered and surrounded. There's nowhere to go."

"Go swivel!" Seifer retorted before ducking behind a generator. He could hear footsteps approaching so he popped up and fired a burst from the Uzi a few feet over the nearest mans head.

"Drop your weapons." The leader of the Dragon Squadron said. "Come out with your hands on your head. We don't want to hurt you."

"Yeah, you'll leave that to your professional torturers!" Seifer barked. "Back off! I may not be able to take you all on but I'm quite curious to find out how many of you I can take with me. You game?"

"There's no need for this to end violently." The commando replied. "You'll have a chance to account for yourself in a court of law. Galbadia has changed a lot in the last four years."

"Not enough to abolish the death penalty though." Seifer retorted grimly. "I'll be put to death for my crimes, and while I am well aware I deserve it I'd rather go down fighting if it's all the same to you."

The nearest commando took a step forward before setting his weapon down on the ground and kicking it aside. Then he did the same with his sidearm and combat knife. Next he stripped his belt kit off and finally he removed his helmet, revealing himself as a young man, maybe a year or so younger than Seifer. He walked forwards until he was facing Seifer over the top of the generator.

"There's no need for you to go down at all." He said calmly. "I know who you are and I know what you've done. In fact, I was under your command during the Battle of the Gardens in Centra. I've put my weapons down so maybe you can do the same and we can have a talk?"

"How stupid do you think I am?" Seifer growled. "How about you all put your weapons down and then I'll be more reasonable."

"Do as he says." The soldier ordered and after a few seconds his comrades complied.

It was at that point Seifer made his move. He lunged forwards, grabbed the commando and dragging the unfortunate man across the generator nutted him in the face. Before the others could react Seifer was running full tilt at the edge of the roof. The Dragon Squadron immediately scrabbled for their weapons but Seifer had already taken a running leap off the roof. Instead of trying to make it to the next rooftop Seifer aimed for a window on the top floor of the next building. He smashed through it and charged through the apartment into the hall. Then he worked his way through the building to a stairwell which he hared down, Hyperion at the ready.

The Dragon Squadron hadn't been prepared for Seifer's daring manoeuvre and they'd also neglected to clear the neighbouring buildings of civilians. Furthermore they'd not informed the Estharian authorities about their operation so if a civilian was caught in the crossfire it could blow up into a full scale international incident. This meant it would be an unacceptable risk to go into the building after Seifer.

Seifer exploded out a door at ground level and bounded down the alleyway between both buildings. This presented the sharpshooters with a perfect opportunity to pick him off but Seifer had not been idle. He'd cast both Protect and Shell on himself while in the building so the bullets didn't reach him. Seifer crossed towards a manhole and wrenched it open. He couldn't resist honouring the Dragon Squadron commandos with a jaunty wave before disappearing into Esthar's vast and labyrinthine sewer network. Seifer knew they wouldn't follow him because the chances of correctly predicting which way he'd go were comparable to winning the lottery ten times in a row.

As Seifer moved through the sewers he considered his next move. It was definitely time to move on again. He'd hide out in the sewers for a few hours, wait for darkness and then make a move. He could stowaway on a train crossing Horizon Bridge and get off while they were refuelling in Fisherman's Horizon. From there Seifer was confident he could steal a boat or bribe someone to take him to Dollet. He could also take the train the whole way across and get off in Timber as the Galbadian military presence wasn't as large as it used to be. Alternatively he could relocate to another part of Esthar's enormous capital city. Finally, he could head to Centra but Seifer had already spent eighteen months wandering the barren, monster infested continent and it hadn't agreed with him. Still, he'd have plenty of time to come to a decision.

Seifer was about to take a left when a shapeless black shadow emerged from the tunnel dead ahead. Seifer unsheathed they Hyperion and raised it defensively. He knew exactly what he was facing. It was a monster known as a Creep. Creeps were not particularly dangerous unless they attacked in large numbers. Seifer bared his teeth in a predatory grin.

"Hello Beastie."

* * *

There were twelve of them standing naked in the cold hangar, five girls and seven boys staring straight ahead, hands clasped behind them. SeeD Zell Dincht marched forward and stood in front of them.

"Alright people," He ordered. "Put your kit on."

Zell waited patiently as they complied, dressing themselves in shirts, trousers, greatcoats and boots that had no laces and had definitely seen better days. Aged between sixteen and nineteen, all twelve were nearing the end of their SeeD training and that meant they had to undergo the gruelling escape and evasion training.

For the duration of the five day exercise, the cadets would be turned loose in the Dollet Mountains with nothing aside from a crude map of the area drawn on a square of parachute silk, a few matches, a Gil in small change and a couple of magnesium flares for use in emergencies. They would be hunted down, all the while trying to make it to RV's (rendezvous points) by specified times unless they wanted to forgo the only food available for the next twenty four hours. They would also have to evade a hunter force.

The RV's and hunter forces were spread out and placed so that it was impossible for the cadets to escape indefinitely. Once they were caught they'd more than likely receive a savage beating and be brought back to base in order to undergo the "resistance to interrogation" phase of their training. That essentially meant an unspecified period of intimidation, sleep deprivation, psychological torture, aggressive interrogation, white noise and violence.

"Six months ago, there were two hundred of you." Zell said, his voice echoing in the vast hangar. "Now there are twelve. You've done well. It will all have been for nothing unless you get through the next five days of combat survival. You have an excess of one hundred miles to cover. There is no one out there to help you. No one is on your side."

Zell paused. The cadets didn't look particularly worried but the brawler had been through the exact same during his own training and knew they'd soon revise their opinion of this exercise. Some people might have said that SeeD training was tantamount to child abuse but everyone in SeeD was agreed on one thing. The harder the training, the better a soldier you were. Furthermore, any cadet who couldn't hack it could drop out at any time.

"Never forget, no matter how cold, wet, starving, dead-on-your-feet you are there is one thing you can depend on." Zell paused for effect. "There is far worse shite to come. You will be hunted down by members of the Dollet 22nd Regiment. They have night goggles, dogs, helicopters. There are only two ways it will end. One; you quit. Two; you make it. You will know it is over when, and only when someone with a white armband on their left arm says it is over. Fail, to make the RV's, crack under interrogation and you will be returned to day one of your training. Your goal is simple. You are doing this in order to become a member of the most elite fighting force in the world."

The cadets were marched outside to a couple of trucks, blindfolded and forced into the back. While they marched they were subjected to a chorus of abuse and endless shoves from the hunter force, all hardened members of the Dollet Special Forces. Zell clambered into the lead trucks and drove through the gates of the Dollet airbase SeeD had been given to stage their training thanks to their close relationship with the Dollet Dukedom.

The trucks stopped on the edge of a non-descript piece of woodland. The cadets were hauled unceremoniously off the trucks and their blindfolds were removed. Zell pointed down a track.

"There's another instructor a kilometre down there." He told them. "He'll give you your grid references."

The cadets headed off but two of them let the other less experienced cadets go ahead of them, mindful of what had happened on their last attempt. Mark Astonol and Geoffrey Artanx were both eighteen years old, both having failed this exercise once before.

Mark was approaching seven feet tall, with dark skin and eyes buzz cut black hair and biceps the size of basketballs. A lot of the time his height and generally huge physical presence worked against him, as the powers that be didn't want people who stood out in SeeD. On the other side of the scales however, Mark was a hardworking individual who was skilled at diplomacy. Then there was also the fact that he was big and he scared people. He also wasn't shy about pulverising any threat with his brute strength and enormous sledgehammer.

Geoff, as he preferred to be known was a lot smaller than Mark, but he was still clearly a guy you didn't want to mess with. With long, unruly black hair and a scruffy beard he didn't look like the excellent soldier he was but it wouldn't take Geoff long to change that opinion. He wasn't very muscular, more fast moving than particularly strong but he was extremely focused and driven. Geoff's weapon of choice was a selection of knives he could either throw or use in close quarters. He was also top of the class in unarmed combat, spending more time in the dojo (a hall for martial arts training) in a week than most people did in a month.

The path simply disappeared into the woodland after a kilometre and the cadets simply stood milling around on the edge of the trees, looking for the instructor who would set them off. Mark and Geoff stood apart, both of them had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen, and they also knew they were powerless to stop it.

Suddenly, without any warning a whistle blew and approximately thirty members of the hunter force charged out of the trees and into the startled cadets. One girl was punched to the ground and then her face was dunked in a puddle and held there for several seconds. A fair haired boy had his ankle stomped and he howled in agony. Mark waded in and was about to help when three soldiers flattened him and before he knew it he was taking a kicking. Geoff hit the ground and attempted to roll into a ball but two soldiers grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him across the rough ground while another lashed out with his boots and fists.

Then Zell strolled nonchalantly out of the trees as if nothing was happening. He pulled out a whistle and blew on it before wading in and dragging the soldiers off their victims who climbed to their feet, the one whose ankle had been stomped supported by two of his fellows.

"Alright, you twelve, back on the trucks." He ordered, leading the cadets back up the trail. The blindfolds were put back on and Zell smiled grimly as he closed the tailgate. "That's just a taster of what's to come if you get caught. Next time, there will be no whistle."

After another fifteen or twenty minutes they stopped and four cadets had their blindfolds were removed. Then they were given their grid references and sent off into the woods. Ten minutes later, four others were sent off. The last four consisted of Mark, Geoff, the guy with the sore ankle Tom and an aspiring pilot, Trent. Their blindfolds were removed as the tailgate was opened and they clambered off the truck. Tom found it more difficult than the others but managed in spite of his injury.

"Bloody silly." Geoff observed. "We've got a hundred miles to cover and he can barely get off the lorry."

"You'll be okay." Zell said to Tom. "Just don't take your boot off or you'll never get it back on again. Right, your grid reference for 0600 hours is 782/365. If you're late for the RV you'll get no more food for another twenty four hours. The hunter forces start in one hour. Good luck." Zell strode back to the truck and drove off without a backward glance.

"Right," Mark dug his improvised map out of his greatcoat and consulted it. "782/365 is…let me see…there." He pointed at a spot on the map and the others turned to look in the direction of the distant RV.

"Fifteen miles as the crow flies." Trent guessed dubiously.

"That's open country though." Geoff replied assuming the role of leader. "It'd be more like twenty five if we use the woods for cover. We can all do twenty five miles in our sleep. We've got nearly twelve hours so let's do thirty minutes running and then go to ground until dark.

"Right then," Mark said as they headed off between the trees. "Looks like it's heads to the grindstone."

"What are you talking about?" Trent snorted. "Heads to the grindstone? What's that supposed to mean?

"It's a saying." Mark amended patiently before a confused look crossed his features. "Or is it elbows? Elbows to the grindstone?"

"Noses." Geoff interjected. "It's noses you moron."

* * *

As Commander of Balamb Garden and SeeD Special Forces Squall Leonhart was also overseeing the training and he turned away from the leader of the hunter force as Zell and the other truck drove back into the base. He headed over to the brawler as he climbed out of the cab.

"I've hooked Mark Astonol up with a cripple." Zell informed him brightly.

"Why?" Squall asked.

"You know why." Zell said evenly. "He's too tall. We don't need guys that stand out in SeeD. Having said that, he should do well in spite of me. It was just sheer bad luck he failed last time."

"Fair enough." Squall nodded. "It took you and I two attempts to pass if I remember correctly. Now if you'll excuse me the Garden Faculty apparently want a word with me. I wonder what's wrong this time. I have this theory that if the Garden Faculty were happy with everything the universe would collapse in on itself and compact into an infinitely dense dot."

Two of the Garden Faculty were waiting outside the door to the office Squall had been allocated. The Faculty were no longer Shumi and they had dispensed with the ostentatious robes and ridiculous headpieces they'd worn under Garden Master Norg. Now they were burly ex-army type humans dressed in combat fatigues and carrying assault rifles. Their obsession with rules and vastly overblown senses of self-importance were unchanged.

"Leonhart," One of the Faculty said with badly concealed contempt as Squall approached. "Can we talk to you?"

"That's Commander Leonhart to you." Squall said coldly as he unlocked his office door. "As for talking to me, feel free though whether or not I'll listen remains to be seen."

"Very well." The Faculty said, sitting down without being invited and facing Squall over his desk. "We've decided that the escape and evasion training, as well as the resistance to interrogation training constitutes child abuse. We've decided to terminate it."

"You don't have the power to do that." Squall replied icily. "Besides, you insisted on them signing a waver before taking part and they all did. They knew what they were getting into and they're all participating in this training willingly. Furthermore you and I know that they can drop out at any time with no punishment."

"This isn't your call Commander." The Faculty spat out the last word as if it tasted bad. "The majority of the cadets are under the age of eighteen making them minors. They cannot be expected to go through what this training involves."

"Well if you want to go out there and bring them back feel free." Squall said with an uncharacteristic grin. "They're trying to evade capture. They're trained for it and they're very good at it. The Dollet Special Forces are hunting them so it'll be no mean task for them to escape you monkeys."

"You forget your place Leonhart." The Faculty spluttered outraged.

"No, you do." Squall said, dropping his smile and injecting an ominous edge into his tone. "I am Commander so what I say goes around here, clear? These cadets have been in training for this for years and if you asked them if it was child abuse I know what the answer would be. The problem here is that you clowns have not undergone SeeD training and you've never had much contact with these remarkable young people apart from when you punish them for the most minor infractions imaginable. You don't know what these cadets can do because you don't even try to understand them. Now are we done?"

"No we are not." The Faculty said. "We're terminating this training program and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I think you'll find there's plenty I can do about it." Squall chuckled. "In order to terminate the training you'll have to get a majority vote from three people; the Chairman of the Garden Faculty who will back his monkey slaves. The Commander of the Garden in question, in this case me and the Headmaster, Cid Kramer. He hates you more than I do so sorry, but motion denied. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"This isn't over." The Garden Faculty steamed, by way of a parting shot.

"Oh for pity's sake…" Squall muttered before yelling after them. "If you wouldn't mind taking your heads and boiling them, don't let me stop you!"

* * *

It was nearing sundown when the rider of the motorcycle cut the engine and freewheeled down a sloping path just inside the woods that blanketed much of the Dollet Mountains. He hopped off and used a knife to cut away several braches that he dragged over the bike as impromptu camouflage. Then he removed his helmet and motorbike leathers, revealing camouflage gear complete with gauntlets and top-of-the-range hiking boots. After painting his face green with brown stripes across his cheeks and forehead he opened a rucksack and rooted through it before pulling out what he'd been looking for.

This mans' weapon of choice was a double barrelled, sawn-off shotgun, known as a "lupara". He broke the barrels open and loaded two shells before snapping it closed again and smiling. Then he replaced the gun in his rucksack and started off into the woods. After all, he had a job and he was a big believer that every job he was called on to do should be done to the very best of his ability. It was what he was trained to do. It was what he was paid to do. Ten thousand in advance, ten thousand afterwards.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Mark, Geoff, Trent and Tom reached the edge of one of the numerous farms in the mountains. They knew better than to ask the farmers for shelter or food as the farmers had probably been bribed by the hunter forces to get on the phone if any cadets turned up. They crouched just inside the tree line and considered their next move.

"We can leg it across the fields, or add another two miles by skirting them in the woods." Mark suggested dubiously.

"Listen, if the hunters are watching with night sights…" Geoff began but Trent cut across him.

"Tom can't handle any extra distance."

"Don't you worry about me." Tom said firmly, despite the fact he'd been lagging behind for a considerable amount of time.

"Right, well we are going to leg it across there." Mark said decisively. "It'll save us some time before the next RV. Sound good?" Without waiting for an answer he headed over to the barbed wire fence and dropping to the ground crawled under it. The others followed, unaware they were being watched and not by the hunter forces.

They were about halfway across when they encountered the field's current tenants, a number of sheep who trotted out of their way, bleating indignantly. The man with the shotgun was watching them through a pair of high-tech night vision binoculars and he shook his head. Then keeping low he followed, rolling under the fence.

A few hours later, the four cadets were heading through the woods and once again Tom was falling behind, limping. The others were nearly a hundred yards away so they didn't hear a twig cracking. Tom stopped and looked around, trying to penetrate the darkness. He couldn't see anything out of place but it was a moonless night so we hadn't expected to see anything. He turned back to follow his comrades.

It was doubtful if Tom ever saw the blow that killed him coming. He dropped to the ground as the man with the shotgun smashed him in the face with a thick tree branch. Tom's body lay face down on the ground and the hunter kicked him over onto his back. Tom's face was bloodied and his eyes stared unseeingly up at his assailant.

"You're just not good enough mate." The man said quietly. "It's survival of the fittest. You want to be the best. You want to reach the holy of the holy, the Holy Grail? The best fighting force in the world, but you're just not good enough. You don't make the grade. You'll never be a god like me."

Less than three hours later, Mark, Geoff and Trent came within sight of a dirt road. Keeping low they headed down to the edge of the woods, keeping their eyes open in case the hunter forces were nearby.

"There's the 0600 RV" Mark said quietly, pointing. "We made pretty good time by my reckoning."

"Yeah," Geoff agreed with a nod. "I guess we've got about twenty five minutes to rest up."

"Hang on a second," Mark said, looking around suddenly. "Where's Tom gotten to?"

"Don't know." Geoff replied scratching his chin unconcernedly. "Haven't seen him for a few hours or more."

"What?" Mark yelped.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Trent demanded.

"Because you'd have suggested we stop." Geoff replied irritably. "This is SeeD Combat Survival training, not bloody paint balling. He's not up to another three days of this shite. Hey where are you going?"

"I'm going back to look for him." Mark said before heading back the way they'd come.

"You're stupid." Geoff declared. "He can't handle it and now you're risking your chance at passing for him. He'll be fine. He's injured, so let him heal and try again."

Mark was out of earshot however. Trent threw Geoff a look of disgust before deciding to head after Mark and have a go at locating Tom. Geoff snorted and gathered his greatcoat around himself and stayed where he was. As far as he was concerned Tom had no hope of passing this training with his injury and he was a liability. Geoff made a point of noting everything his fellow cadets did and he knew that Tom was a very fit all-rounder. He'd easily get to this stage of the training on his next attempt and sail through, barring another injury. As Geoff looked around a Land Rover pulled up to the side of the road fifty yards away. Geoff got to his feet and headed over to the drivers window.

Zell poured himself a cup of coffee from a flask and buzzed down his window as Geoff approached.

"Where are the others?" The brawler asked.

"They're coming." Geoff replied evasively. "Where's my food?"

Zell handed Geoff a bar of chocolate and a foil bundle that turned out to be a bacon and egg roll with a couple of cold sausages. As Geoff ripped the foil off and bolted the roll down Zell checked his watch. It wasn't long until Mark and Trent returned with no sign of Tom. Geoff was to busy wolfing his roll down to even acknowledge their presence.

"Two minutes late and no Tom." Zell observed.

"No." Mark shook his head.

"All right we'll deal with that." Zell said evenly. "Your RV for 0600 tomorrow is 780/234." He started to wind his window up.

"Hey boss, what about our food?" Trent asked.

"Are you deaf?" Zell grunted irritably. "You rolled up two minutes late. Pity though, egg, bacon and sausage. Not bad were they Geoff?"

"You miserable little bastard." Mark growled. As Zell drove off Trent seized Geoff by his lapels angrily.

"Even the lowest, most venomous creature would've saved something for his mates." Trent growled. Geoff reacted by shoving Trent in the chest.

"You're not my mate, arsehole." He spat.

"Leave it out!" Mark said as Trent reared towards Geoff furiously. He pulled out his map and checked it. "Where's the next RV?"

"Here," Geoff pointed. "Across the river."

"Oh that's great." Mark grumbled as they headed into the woods between them and the river. "That's just great."

If any of the three had looked back the way they'd come they might've seen a man in full camouflage wearing a rucksack step out from behind a tree and follow them, moving with remarkable stealth.

Mark, Trent and Geoff sprinted towards the fast flowing river and crouched at the edge. Trent and Geoff knew they'd have to swim but Mark wasn't exactly overjoyed at the prospect.

"What?" Trent asked him.

"He doesn't like water." Geoff laughed.

"I'll be alright." Mark said evenly as he pulled out a few of bin liners he'd discovered in the woods the night before. "If we put our greatcoats in these and tie them tightly enough they should make half decent flotation devices."

"Good thinking." Geoff said.

"What do you mean you don't like the water?" Trent demanded of Mark. "You passed the swimming test, we all did."

"I actually walked most of it." Mark explained shamefacedly. "Sometimes it helps to be so tall."

"Can't we chance the bridge anyhow?" Trent asked, pointing at a footbridge.

"No there could be hunters there." Geoff shook his head.

"Yeah it's the obvious place." Mark agreed before sighing resignedly. "We'll have to cross downstream." Before they could decide any further their attention was grabbed by a dog barking. For all they knew it could just be a random sheepdog or it could be a dog leading the entire hunter force. Worse, it sounded as if it was pretty close.

"That kind of decides it doesn't it." Geoff said, stripping off his greatcoat and putting it into one of the bin liners before knotting it tightly. Then he went first and waded into the water. "Jesus, it's fucking freezing!"

"Stick close," Trent said to Mark as they waded in as well. "Lifesaving gold medal me. You'll probably be able to walk across as you're so…"

"Shut up!" Mark shouted.

They started to swim across, using their improvised buoyancy aids to avoid sinking. Mark was in the middle when the current grabbed him with astonishing speed and started to pull him under. Surprised, Mark started to thrash about in a desperate bid to hold his position.

"Swim with the flow." Trent roared at him. "Don't fight the current because the current always wins."

The river had burst it's banks a few weeks previously so some of the trees on the other side had been submerged. Geoff knew he was close to the other side so he seized a branch and hauled himself up out of the water as Trent floated past, followed quickly by Mark. Geoff reached out to help the latter but the current was too fast and Mark was swept downstream after Trent.

While Mark finally managed to use his immense physical strength to get to the shore and Geoff leapt from tree to tree Trent was swept further down the river by the current. Finally he managed to make it to the shore and registered a gauntleted hand reaching for him. He grasped the hand and looked up as his rescuer with a smile.

The rescuer, a man dressed in camouflage with a rucksack on his back smiled back at him.

Geoff was waiting for Mark and they both pulled on their greatcoats before looking around for their comrade.

"Where's Trent?" Mark wondered aloud.

"Well," Geoff said, pretending to think about it. "Last time I saw him, he had you clambering all over him like a climbing frame."

"He must be downstream." Mark said before heading along the shoreline looking for Trent. He quickly located him, lying in a foetal position, half in and half out of the water. "Come on Trent mate, we need to keep moving. Trent?" Mark turned Trent over only to see his glassy eyes wide open and his face locked in a painfully surprised expression. He quickly checked his pulse before starting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"He's dead isn't he?" Geoff said, sounding slight punch drunk.

"Do his chest you muppet!" Mark barked.

* * *

A number of SeeD had been deployed into the mountains to look for Tom and another cadet who'd gone walkabout. Usually a few cadets went missing every time the exercise was held. Zell and fellow SeeD, sharpshooter Irvine Kinneas were wandering the woods and Irvine was calling out Tom's name.

"Yeah, that should do it." Zell grunted as he looked around. "He's trying to evade capture so if he hears you bellowing he'll pack it in the opposite direction."

"It's too bloody early in the morning to be chasing after a cripple." Irvine sighed as he lit a cigarette. "Tom! Zell, what are you going to do about Quistis?"

"You what?" Zell stopped in his tracks and turned to throw a questioning look at Irvine.

"Well look at it like this." Irvine said, displaying his self-delusion that he was a genius when it came to romantic matters. "Squall and Rinoa have paired off, as have Selphie and I. It makes sense that you and Quistis should try to entertain each other. But if you're not interested, you should let her know, so Nida can have a stab."

"Nida?" Zell repeated incredulously. He'd often theorised that because Balamb Garden's pilot was so quiet and didn't stand out so much he didn't even have a sex drive.

"Yeah," Irvine nodded knowledgeably. "He's nuts about her. Oh come on, you must have noticed."

"I thought she and instructor Aki were…you know." Zell said. Instructor Aki was a recent acquisition to Garden from the Galbadian marines. He was the type of instructor that all female cadets fell in love with and all made cadets think is a dick.

"Aki?" Irvine snorted. "Doubt it. No if anyone's had her I'd bet on Cid…or maybe Xu."

"But how can Nida go after Quistis?" Zell asked. "I mean, she's a captain. You can't have a thing with an officer."

"Oh yes you can." Irvine laughed. "Happens all the time. Look at Squall and Rinoa. She's a cadet he's the Commander for fucks sake. Look Zell, if you think you can get cosy with Quistis let her know, if not free it up for your mates."

Before Zell could reply there was a bellowing as four members of the hunter force charged out of the undergrowth at them. Irvine reacted instinctively and dropped one with a well aimed punch. Zell seized another by the waist, flipped him to the ground and seizing his arm pulled it into an excruciating lock, threatening to dislocate the unfortunate Dollet soldiers arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you twat?" Zell roared before eyeballing the other men. "Back off!"

"You hurt him and you're dead!" One of the other Dollet soldiers threatened.

"You tits are from the hunter force right?" Irvine barked. "You think we're a couple of SeeD cadets on combat survival training? Do you seriously think Balamb Garden's finest would be trotting through the woods, chatting at the top of their voices like a pair of wankers from _Saving Private Ryan_?"

Five minutes later Squall pulled up in a Land Rover next to where Zell and Irvine were waiting along with four Dollet soldiers, one nursing a bloody nose and another clutching an aching shoulder.

"A little misunderstanding." Irvine said by way of an explanation. "Did we find Tom?"

"No," Squall said. "You obviously haven't." It was at that point Zell's phone rang. The brawler snatched it up.

"Zell here," He said before his face changed subtly. "What? Where? Okay we'll be ten minutes?"

"What is it?" Squall said.

"One of the cadet teams has set off a distress flare." He sighed. "It was a red flare. We've got a death."

Mark and Geoff had dragged Trent's body into a clearing in the woods and set off one of their distress flares. A helicopter landed and was quickly joined by the Land Rover driven by Squall. Mark and Geoff were helped by Zell and Irvine to carry Trent in a body bag to the helicopter, and then they made to climb in where Squall was waiting.

"You can hitch a lift if you want," Squall told them. "But only if you're out to fail this exercise."

"You what?" Geoff yelped indignantly. "You expect us to go on after what's happened?"

"When men get killed in a fire fight we don't just piss off home for tea and sympathy." Zell yelled over the noise of the rotors. "Squall's right."

"The helicopter will compromise this whole area!" Mark protested. "There's going to be hunters everywhere."

"It'd be a good idea to start moving then." Squall grinned before sliding the helicopter door shut and giving them a jaunty wave as the helicopter took off again. Mark and Geoff headed over to the Land Rover with Zell and Irvine.

"Do we give them a lift?" Zell asked.

"No we can't." Irvine replied. "If anyone sees or hears about it they fail automatically and we'll face disciplinary action to boot." The sound of ripping caught their ears and everyone turned to Geoff to see him unwrapping his chocolate.

"Did you stash that at breakfast?" Mark demanded before turning to Zell. "Do you believe this asshole? Me and Trent get nothing and he won't even share his chocolate."

"You'd better get going mate." Zell said, clapping Mark on the shoulder before climbing into the Jeep's driving seat. "See you later."

* * *

**Author Commentary: I'm back and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reviewed Doomsday, you know who you are. I missed writing for this fandom and I'm glad to be back. If you're confused about what I'm doing here I think you should read my opening note as that should explain things. This chapter came from two very specific places. First of all, Seifer's life on the run is one thing I've not written a great deal of and I'm looking forward to building on it in future chapters. Seifer is in my mind a very complex character and (I know I've said it before) he's nowhere as bad as the game really wants us to believe. He's going to have to deal with a boat load of guilt and a number of factions calling for his head. That won't be a good day out by anyone's standards. The second part of this chapter is inspired in no small part by the gruelling selection process for the S.A.S. (Special Air Services), the British Army's Special Forces. Naming the hunter force as the Dollet 22****nd**** is an homage to the S.A.S. who are also the 22****nd**** Regiment. I've never experienced selection myself but my uncle went through it and although I can't prove it I suspect he may have passed, though he can't tell me one way or the other for obvious reasons. I grilled him extensively about selection and the escape and evasion phase and his experience was invaluable. Those fans of Doomsday may recognise Mark Astonol as one of Rinoa's comrades in her field exam. I needed a character and he fit in nicely. As for Geoff, I realise people may not like him but sometimes the best soldiers don't make the best friends. As for our mystery assassin, well his identity and the identity of the people pulling his strings will remain ambiguous for some time. As ever, thanks for reading and please leave a review.**

**~Ally Todd **


	3. Chapter 3

**They're Being Followed**

During his life as a fugitive Seifer had explored a vast chunk of Esthar's sewer system and probably had a better grasp on its geography than anyone else. He was pretty sure where he was going and he wouldn't be sorry to leave the sewers and escape the almost endless assaults from Red Bats. He was able to deal with them and the Creeps that periodically attacked him but he'd also stumbled across a marauding Grand Mantis. Seifer was a pretty handy fighter but he wasn't stupid. Given the state he was in he didn't like his chances of walking away alive from a tussle with a praying mantis the size of a bus.

Seifer had been walking for nearly six hours when he decided to head to the surface to check he was heading in the right direction. It was very easy to get turned around in the sewers. He quick located a ladder and climbed it until he found a man hole cover. He pulled out his Uzi and cocked it, just in case he happened to surface in the middle of and Esthar military base. He put his shoulder to the cover and pushed upwards. It shifted up a few inches and Seifer peered out. He immediately realised that this wasn't his exit point. From what he could see, it was a crowded shopping precinct and if a former mercenary and current fugitive climbed out of the sewers wielding a gun blade and a machine gun it would spark a panic that would attract far too much attention. Seifer pulled the man hole cover back into place and descended the ladder once again. He crouched at the foot and closing his eyes started to think.

He hadn't seen much from his position but what he had seen was invaluable. Most of the people had been wearing designer labels. This meant that the shopping precinct was one of the opulent ones on the outskirts of the city. He'd also caught a faint but noticeable whiff of salt. That meant he was near the western side of the city and the Great Salt Lake. That was good. On the other side of the Salt Flats was a train station at the eastern end of Horizon Bridge. Seifer decided to find another way up and hope that when he did he was in a less crowded area. Seifer replaced the Uzi in its holster as he stood up and unsheathed the Hyperion in case any monsters or bounty hunters were about.

That was when Seifer's intuition tingled and he spun around, Hyperion cocked back for a swing.

"Who's here?" He demanded aggressively. He didn't expect anyone to answer so he was surprised when a voice spoke up from several metres away.

"A friend." It was a man speaking with a difficult to place accent and as Seifer peered into the darkness he could make out an outline standing in the mouth of the nearest tunnel.

"I don't have any friends." Seifer growled, still not lowering the Hyperion. He reached into his jacket and gave the handle of his Uzi a reassuring squeeze. "Now why don't you come out and face me like a…thing."

"Very well." The man stepped forwards until a light in the ceiling threw his features into sharp relief. Seifer lowered the Hyperion slightly but didn't sheath as he looked the newcomer over. He was few inches shorter than Seifer with short dark hair and a healthy growth of stubble. He was dressed casually and was smiling as if at some private joke. He appeared to be unarmed but Seifer knew that unless someone was stupid enough to let a weapon bulge through clothing it was impossible to tell if someone was carrying one. The man's most distinguishing features were his eyes. They were a deep dark blue and when Seifer looked into them he could tell that the man had lived, and had seen things no one should ever have to see.

"Who are you?" Seifer asked as he eased his body into a combat stance, more out of habit than anything else.

"Relax Seifer," The man told him calmly. "I mean you no harm. I'd just like to talk to you."

"How do you know my name?" Seifer growled. For some reason he got the feeling that there was some ulterior motive at work here. After all, people didn't tend to bump into each other in sewers.

"Come on Seifer, your mug shot is all over the place these days." The man chuckled good-naturedly. "As for whom I am, you can call me Barranca."

"Okay Barranca," Seifer grunted as he resheathed the Hyperion. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to tell you a story." Barranca replied. "Once upon a time there were two boys called Squall and Seifer. They both aspired to be the best swordsmen the world has ever seen but the ways they went about it were very different. Squall devoted himself to endless training and cutting himself off from everything aside from the combat. Seifer on the other hand entered into servitude of an evil Sorceress bent on destruction of all life and so forth. Squall and a select few warriors were dedicated to stopping said Sorceress and that inevitably brought them into contact with you no fewer than three times. You lost all those fights and therefore handed Squall the title of world's best swordsman gift wrapped on a silver platter. Now, as Commander of SeeD Special Forces Squall will go from strength to strength while his rival, meaning you, is now nothing more than a lost, directionless loser and a fugitive to boot."

"Okay," Seifer said, trying to ignore the anger and shame that was starting to bubble up inside him. "You've told me the story of my life, which I already knew seeing as it was my life. So what now?"

"I'm going to tell you what happens next." Barranca stated simply before nodding at the ceiling. "But all this yakking is going to be thirsty work so what say you we get ourselves a drink."

"I'm not going up there." Seifer shook his head. "You know so much about me, you should know that half the civilised world is after my head. I'm not about to give them an open invitation to swoop in, throw me in jail for the rest of my life or just kill me on the spot."

"You've cut yourself off from most of the population so you're a little behind on the times." Barranca replied. "It's been four years since the Second Sorceress War ended and since then most people have given up on finding you. Esthar haven't renewed the warrant for your arrest and most people seem happy to let you be the nutter who got away."

"Apart from Galbadia." Seifer retorted. "They turned up in the place I was staying and tried to take me down. Obviously they failed but that doesn't mean they'll stop trying."

"I think you'll be okay if you stay in Esthar for the foreseeable," Barranca said reasonably. "Now why don't we just see what we can talk about over a couple of drinks."

About half an hour later Seifer and Barranca were both sitting at the bar of a small pub on the outskirts of Esthar. They were both drinking glasses of house whisky (which Barranca had insisted on buying).

"Okay, I'm not convinced this isn't a wind up but why don't you tell me what you want to tell me." Seifer said.

"Don't mind if I do." Barranca said. "Tell me Seifer apart from yours truly when's the last time you spent a half decent length of time with another human being."

"I don't know." Seifer said after a few seconds of silence. "A while."

"Define "a while"." Barranca pushed. "Are we talking days? Weeks? Months?"

"Longer." Seifer said monotonously. "Years."

"Aww man the buses don't go where you live do they?" Barranca observed. "Let me tell you something Seifer, cutting yourself off like that is pretty much the dumbest thing you can do. Human beings have a need to share their lives with someone. Husbands and wives, parents and children and so on. If you continue cutting yourself off from humanity the way you've been doing it won't end well."

"So what do you suggest?" Seifer demanded.

"Well let's look at this city." Barranca said. "It's got a population of approximately three hundred million people and that's a lot of people. I imagine some of them have got problems."

"What's your point?" Seifer growled.

"You know, the world is a harsh and unfriendly place but every so often you see something that makes you believe in humanity." Barranca continued. "Everyone in this world needs someone to reach out to when they need help, and I think you could fit the bill. It's not just about saving lives, it's about saving souls and possibly your own in the process."

"I want to know who sent you." Seifer said, trying to mask the fact that Barranca's words had struck a chord somewhere deep inside him.

"I'm honestly not sure." Barranca laughed. "They don't speak to me directly. I get what you might call visions, meaning great splitting migraines that come with pictures. A name, a face. I haven't a clue who sends them. I just know that whoever sends them is more powerful than you or me, and is just trying to make things right. Whoever these people are they need a champion to do the heavy lifting. I'm not a fighter, but you are."

"Why me?" Seifer growled.

"Because you've got potential." Barranca clarified. "You made some mistakes but right now I am giving you a chance to rectify them."

"Okay then why you?" Seifer asked. "I'm not saying I believe you, but if these people who send you the visions need a champion like me, why didn't they just send the visions to me direct? Why do they go through you?"

"We've all got something to atone for." Barranca said, an unreadable expression flicking momentarily across his face. "Look Seifer, I'm not going to force you to do anything against your will. Just think it over for a few days. I'll find you sooner or later and then we can revaluate." With that Barranca slid off his barstool and strode out of the pub without a backwards glance.

Seifer stayed on his barstool and stared into his glass. Despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary Seifer was not emotionally stunted and he had a great deal of emotions relating to the massive fiasco that had come to be known as the Second Sorceress War. There was anger there, but it was overshadowed by a massive amount of guilt and remorse. It was so strong that Seifer had contemplated suicide on a number of occasions. The turn of phrase "when on door closes another opens" had always struck a chord with him and unless Seifer was very much mistaken Barranca's appearance and take on Seifer's very existence was another door opening. Seifer knew that he'd never be free of the guilt that surrounded his stint as a Sorceress' brainwashed cabana boy, but maybe helping people would go some way towards helping him live with it.

* * *

When Squall got off the helicopter back at base he found out that most of the cadets had been captured by the hunter force and some were being dragged unceremoniously off lorries to begin the "resistance to interrogation" phase of their training. It was being overseen by Squall's second in command Xu a cool confident brunette in her mid to late twenties who had been a shoe-in for Garden Commander until Cid had chosen Squall instead. In spite of this, Xu fostered no ill will towards her superiors.

"Have you broken anyone yet?" Squall asked.

"Just loosening up." Xu said after shaking her head. "Starting with lack of sleep and that sort of thing."

"Squall." A voice called and Squall turned around to see Balamb Garden's chief medic Doctor Kadowaki calling him over to the ambulance that was carrying Trent's body. Squall headed over and followed Kadowaki into the ambulance.

"You reckon drowning?" Kadowaki said before shaking her head. "He didn't drown. His neck's broken."

"Surely he'd have marks on his face if his neck was broken." Squall said before examining Trent's face. It was a few seconds before he noticed an oval bruise just under Trent's jaw line. "Shit."

"What is it?" Kadowaki asked.

"I've seen this before." Squall said slowly. "It's how you break someone's neck, it leaves a thumb shaped bruise." Squall lapsed into silence and waited for Kadowaki to digest the implications of what Squall was saying.

"So someone's killed him?" She said her voice shaking. "He's been murdered?"

"Looks that way." Squall said grimly.

Less than five minutes later Squall was standing by a Land Rover with a map of the mountains spread out over the bonnet. In attendance were Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Nida and Xu.

"Trent's dead," Squall said. "Tom's missing and as far as we know Mark Astonol and Geoffrey Artanx are both out there. Personally, I think the training can wait. I want both of them found before the Old Bill gets a hold of them." At that point in ironies little joke a Dollet police car nosed in the gates. "Speak of the devil. Right, Zell, Nida and Xu see if you can pick up their trail. That's where they were last sighted, that's the 0600 RV. Irvine, Selphie, make your way from the drop-off point to where Tom went missing." They rushed off as a policeman wearing a suit approached Squall.

"Commander Leonhart, Inspector Wallace." He said, shaking Squall's hand. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"The victim was part of a four…sorry, three man team." Squall explained. "You see, we've lost one of them. He's lame and probably a bit disorientated."

"Are you looking for him?" The inspector asked.

"Of course." Squall nodded. "He'll probably just show up."

"And the other two?" Inspector Wallace asked. "I'll need to speak with them to take statements. Can I talk to them?"

"Well, with some considerable difficulty." Squall smiled thinly. "You see they're out there somewhere."

"Then I suggest we should go out there and bring them back." Inspector Wallace suggested getting a peal of embittered laughter from Squall. "Did I say something funny?"

"I'm afraid it's not going to be quite that easy." Squall explained. "You see, they're trying to evade capture. They've been trained for it and they're very good at it, but we'll have a go."

* * *

Darkness had fallen and Zell, Nida and Xu were moving through the forest in an attempt to pick up some kind of trail. As Xu crouched and pulled out a torch to consult her map Zell stole a look at Nida that didn't go unnoticed by the other man.

"What?" Nida demanded irritably.

"Quistis." Zell said after a few seconds in an undertone so Xu couldn't overhear. "You like her am I right?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." Nida growled back.

"Yeah, yeah it's not." Zell shrugged but what Irvine had said earlier was really beginning to play on his mind. "Look, go for her. Don't mind me yeah…"

"As if you're in the picture you cocky little bastard!" Nida snapped.

"What is it with you?" Zell demanded, his infamously volcanic temper already being tested to breaking point.

"Me?" Nida shouted, but before Zell could reply Xu had decided that enough was enough and shined her torch over at them.

"Hey!" She barked, anger plain on her features. "Pack it in the pair of you, you're like a couple of old women. Let's push onto their RV and see if we can pick up a trail of some description." Xu touched her radio. "This is Red Three, still no sign."

"This is Red Two in the helicopter." Another voice said over the radio. "We've got a thermal of three people at 580/736."

"That's us." Xu said.

"No we've got you three by the stream." Came the reply. "These are half a mile west of you."

"Would someone get the message across we are looking for two people not three!" This was Squall and he wasn't sounding very happy to say the least.

On the other side of the woods, Selphie and Irvine were following a trail with their torches out. Selphie was pushing a few branches aside when Irvine looked down and his eye was caught by something on the ground. He crouched down and shone his torch on a deep boot print in the soft ground.

"Take a look at this Selphie." He said quietly. "There were four of them when they started, wearing the usual ancient boots. There's a fifth pair or feet on this track. Came after. Look at this print. That was caused by some kind of heavy duty, hiking boot. I don't know a brand but there's no way the cadets caused this. I'll stake my pension on it."

"Saw them a mile or so back to." Selphie agreed. "I didn't think anything of it at the time but now…"

It was less than five minutes before they discovered their next tell tale clue and it was a pretty big one. Selphie pushed some more branches aside and the first thing she saw were a pair of booted feet poking out of the undergrowth. She bent down and getting a good grip…pulled Tom's dead body out of the undergrowth, his face covered in dried blood with his eyes wide open.

"Tom!" Irvine exclaimed as he crouched down, getting no response. "Bollocks."

* * *

The next morning Geoff and Mark were reaching the top of a slope that overlooked a road through the woods. They both dropped to their stomachs and crawled slowly to the top before braving a glance. It wasn't good news as a large team of hunters were moving towards their position in a line.

"They're onto us." Mark whispered.

Communicating silently Geoff suggested that they backed up and then circle around the hunter force. Mark quickly agreed and they both rolled back before clambering to their feet and heading off to the left.

Little did Mark or Geoff know that less than two hundred metres away was Xu with Nida and Zell in tow. Furthermore, Xu didn't know that her team and their quarry were so close together. She shook her head as she heard the Dollet soldiers shouting orders and crashing through the woodland.

"The hunters are making enough noise." She muttered before stopping and backtracking a little. She crouched down and signalled Zell and Nida to do the same as she examined a boot print in the ground. Then she seized her radio and keyed in Squall's frequency.

"It's Xu." She said. "Look there's something really funny here. It looks like someone could've picked up a proper pair of hiking boots."

"What are you talking about?" Squall asked. He was in the driver's seat of a Land Rover with Selphie and Irvine, taking Tom's body back to base for a post mortem and preparation for a funeral.

"Look I'm about a mile and a half from the RV." Xu explained. "And I've just picked up a trail caused pair of brand new hiking boots. This doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The cadets are wearing the crappy old boots, not these things."

"The fifth pair of feet." Irvine said as realisation hit him with the force of a speeding freight train.

"Standby Xu," Squall said before turning to look at Irvine. "What are you talking about?"

"Someone's following them, definitely." Irvine said urgently. "I saw the same boots tracking them eighteen miles away. They're being followed!"

"Shit." Was Squall's analysis of the situation. He drove on until he found the road blocked by a large group of the hunter forces who were milling around, chattering and laughing like there was no tomorrow. Squall beat the steering wheel with his fists and boiled out of the car before storming over to the senior officer who was talking to the police inspector. "What exactly is this circus?"

"Well, this is the 0600 RV isn't it?" The officer replied.

"They'll hear you lot five miles away." Squall barked. "They're probably sitting in a McDonalds halfway to Timber by now. If we're going to catch them we have to be subtle. Silent ambush. Wait…what the fuck is that?" Squall's attention had been grabbed by a loudhailer ringing out, telling whoever was listening that the exercise was over and that they were to give themselves up.

"The men are calling out that the exercise is over, and that they are to give themselves up." The hunter force leader said.

"And you think they'll believe you?" Squall spluttered, only barely holding himself back from slapping some sense into this moron.

"On reflection, and taking into account what you've just said, no." The man said somewhat shame facedly. "I don't think so."

"Anyway, we have another problem." Squall said evenly. "There is a third man out there right now."

"What do you mean Commander?" Inspector Wallace asked.

"They're being followed." Squall clarified. "Someone picked up their trail and followed them. He's the killer."

Meanwhile, Mark and Geoff had stopped as the part of the woods they were in stank of an ambush. While Mark sat down and rested Geoff moved forwards slowly to scout the area ahead of them.

This was a golden opportunity for the killer who pulled out a knife and advanced silently towards Mark's back. He was just picking his spot and moment when the whole franchise exploded into mayhem.

With roars of triumph dozens of hunter troops exploded out of the undergrowth and from behind trees. Geoff immediately about faced and sprinted off. Mark leapt to his feet and he bundled the killer out of the way before following Geoff. The killer leapt back to his feet and pulled out his shotgun as the hunters charged towards him.

Squall was just explaining his theory to Inspector Wallace when the air was rent with the unmistakable cracks of a shotgun being fired, twice in quick succession. As Squall and the Inspector turned to look in the direction a message came over the hunter forces radio.

"We've got two men down, we need medics fast." Came the message. "Three X-rays' headed off southwest."

"One X-ray!" Squall roared as the hunter force started mobilising. "The other two are ours."

Back in the woods, Mark and Geoff dashed panic stricken through the woods. They both dived into a shallow ravine and tried to make sense of the maddening turn their training had just taken.

"What the fuck was that?" Geoff said breathlessly.

"Dunno." Mark shrugged as he tried to catch his breath. "It sounded like a shotgun. Someone was shooting."

"Is that normal for combat survival?" Geoff said rhetorically. "Listen we should make for the emergency RV. "Tom's lost, Trent's dead and now there's gun play involved. I don't care if we fail, this whole exercise is bone and we need to get off these hills pronto."

"You're right." Mark nodded.

* * *

Xu, Zell and Nida had joined Squall, Irvine and Selphie when the injured Dollet soldiers were carried off the hill by their comrades and helped onto the lorry that would take them to hospital.

"The two or three targets have all headed off into the woods." The Dollet commander told Inspector Wallace. "One had a sawn-off shotgun. I've got two men wounded, neither terminal."

"Look, I want the wood cleared and every last man off the hills." Inspector Wallace said to Squall. "This is a police matter now. That includes you Commander Leonhart."

"Of course sir," Squall nodded. "I've still got one man searching the woods the rest are on the lorry. I'd grab a lift with the hunter forces if I were you." He gestured towards the departing Dollet forces. Squall watched them leave and waited until they were out of sight before letting out a wolf whistle. Xu, Zell, Nida, Selphie and Irvine all stood up amongst the heather and gathered around Squall's car.

"Nida, take the Land Rover back to base and break out some weapons." Squall ordered immediately. "We'll meet you on the other side of the woods. The rest of us, as long as no one objects are going to try and run down an armed man with nothing but our brains to help us."

"I'm sure we can manage that." Zell said.

"How did he first start following them?" Irvine asked. "How did he get on the trail? He must have been at the drop-off point, at the beginning."

"I think he probably used a car, or more likely a bike." Squall said. "Its ideal terrain and a bike is pretty low profile as methods of insertion go. Did any of you hear a bike engine at the drop-off?"

"Well if he does have a bike he might decide he's had enough." Selphie suggested. "He might go back and get it."

"He might." Squall nodded. "Okay, Xu, Irvine and Selphie see if you can pick up bike tracks. Zell and I will start a search for our boys from here. Keep in constant radio contact."

"Squall," Zell said warily. "Do you think we should chase after an armed guy with no weapons? He's dangerous."

"So are we." Squall smiled grimly. "Come on Zell, you've got your fists and feet and me…well I've developed a habit of carrying this everywhere." Squall reached into his jacket and pulled out his Revolver gun blade. "Now we're on even footing with this guy."

"So what are we going to do if we find him?" Zell asked. "Do we restrain him and hand him over to the law or arrange a painful accident?"

"Let's just find him first." Squall said, although the look on his face told Zell it was unlikely to end well for the killer. "I hope you're fit."

"Fitter than you." Zell said.

"We'll see."

* * *

The killer had always been ready to follow a hunch or listen to his instincts so that was why when he crossed a track and found a fallen tree he stopped and pulled out a pair of thermal imaging binoculars. He aimed them at the mass of roots and earth that had been uprooted and turned them on. It wasn't long before he struck gold. The large red blur in the viewfinder indicated body heat, meaning someone was hiding behind the roots. It was far too large to be an animal and the Dollet military had cleared this area of monsters as the SeeD cadets had no weaponry with which to defend themselves. The killer stowed his binoculars and pulled out his shotgun before advancing.

"You can't hide behind that you loser." He spat before pulling the trigger, blowing a basketball sized hole in the packed earth. He was just raising his weapon for another shot when a distraction presented itself.

"Hey!" A stocky young man with blond hair and a facial tattoo was sprinting towards him and it certainly looked like the last thing on his mind was a friendly chat. The killer spun and fired, his target falling away and rolling down a small ravine. The killer grimaced as he reloaded. He wasn't sure if he'd killed the target so there was only one way to be sure. He stood at the top of the ravine and aimed his shotgun downwards. His target was lying at the bottom but was still moving.

"Come on, come to daddy." The killer said.

Before he could pull the trigger something else got in the way. The "something else" was Squall Leonhart who'd been hiding behind the fallen tree and he slammed into the killer with a rugby tackle, sending them both tumbling down the ravine. The killer had retained his grip on his shotgun and after shoving Squall aside he raised the weapon. Squall however seized a thick tree branch and struck out; catching his adversary's gun arm and making him drop the gun.

The killer reacted quickly and pulling out his knife threw himself at Squall. Squall reacted quickly, going to meet the other man and kicking him in the ribs, knocking him sideways. The killer swore and continued his offensive, swinging his knife at Squall. Squall ducked and felt the blade rush past his hair. Then the Commander threw himself backwards to avoid a thrust.

"Looks like you SeeD types are not all you're cracked up to be." The killer sneered. "If you were I wouldn't have been able to kill two of you. Come to think of it, looks like I'll kill four."

That was when he made his final mistake. Suddenly rage was thundering through Squall's veins like molten lava and he forced himself to his feet, sliding out his gun blade. He lunged forward and with one quick blow disarmed the killer, literally. As his arm thudded to the ground Squall stabbed his screaming victim through the heart and pulled the trigger, liquidising his innards. The killer gurgled but Squall wasn't taking any chances and he yanked his gun blade free before swinging it across, decapitating the killer with a single blow.

"So who's telling the cops they won't get to prosecute him?" Zell said as he stood up next to Squall, bleeding slightly from the shoulder and arm, the majority of the shotgun pellets having missed him.

"Dollet doesn't have the death penalty so all he'd get would be a life sentence." Squall said as he wiped his Gunblade clean on the dead man's jacket. "If the cops have a go at us for killing him we'll just say that he resisted arrest."

"I'm not complaining." Zell said. "He posed a threat to life and you used necessary force. Those are SeeD rules of engagement. I think it's just a pity we'll never know why he went after our cadets."

"He was probably just some sad wannabe who wanted to screw with us." Squall said, re-sheathing his gun blade. "We might as well face it; we've got no shortage of enemies. Call it in. I'd prefer to let animals take care of him but we need his fingerprints to make in ID."

"Selphie?" Zell said into his phone. "Yeah, we got him…he's not looking good…he resisted arrest. How did you do…you got them? Okay we'll see you back at base." Zell hung up and turned to Squall. "Selphie's team found Mark Astonol and Geoffrey Artanx. They handed them over to the hunter force so I'm willing to be they're taking a good pasting right now."

"Good." Squall nodded. "We can't stop training just because of some murderous nut job. This will be some kind of wake-up call for the cadets. Our job is dangerous and some times, would you believe it, people die. Zell, I'll need you to notify Trent and Tom's next of kin."

"That's the bit of the job that I hate." Zell grumbled as he grabbed the killers head and arm and followed Squall who was dragging the body.

* * *

After a savage beating from the hunter force, Mark was stripped naked and led into a dark cell like room. The only furniture was a table and a chair. The room was cold but Mark wasn't unduly worried as he'd suffered worse. He was more worried about what form his resistance to interrogation training was going to take. Less than two minutes later he found out. The door opened and Xu walked in and sat at the table. She was carrying a manila folder and as she flipped it open Mark was able to read his name on it.

"You call that a penis?" Xu said suddenly. "It's pathetic. Cute though. You could dip it in chocolate and pass it off as a chocolate finger. You couldn't satisfy a hamster with a cock like that. It's no wonder women laugh at you, you're a freaking joke." Xu stood up and circled him before walking over to the door and opening it.

Two SeeD members boiled into the room and grabbed Mark, bundling him to the floor, forcing a burlap sack over his head and then wrenching him upright. Then they manhandled him out of his cell and into the cold parade ground. The sack was ripped off Marks head and he saw something that made his blood run cold. His fellow cadets had been strapped in stress positions and had a structure made of chicken wire, about the size of a dog kennel placed over them. It was in turn covered with a sheet of corrugated iron and several SeeD members were standing off to the side carrying short lengths of chain. Mark was forced into a stress position as well and once the chicken wire and iron was in place the SeeD's moved in and started to beat the iron with their chains. The noise was deafening but Mark gritted his teeth and tried to block it out.

A few hours of white noise and beatings later Mark was dragged back into the cell and his hood was ripped off his face. Xu was sitting down and facing him again. She turned a page on his file and looked up at him.

"Orphanage." She said with unmistakeable malice. "No brothers or sisters. No mummy to love you."

"Astonol, Corporal, 249986." Mark spoke monotonously. It was one of the rules of the training that the only information the cadets could disclose was their name, rank and Garden ID number.

"Mother was a whore was she?" Xu continued. "Got knocked up by some drunken, drooling sailor for a quick ten Gil knee trembler? Or was she raped?"

"Astonol, Corporal, 249986." Mark replied, trying to mask his anger and keep his voice neutral.

Zell and Squall were also watching Mark being interrogated from behind a one way window. Resistance to interrogation didn't just involve the cadets. The interrogators were also examined and would be subjected to stiff reprimand if they didn't do everything in their power to break the cadets.

"Enjoying yourself?" Zell asked, throwing a sidelong glance at Squall who as usual was giving nothing away.

"No, no particularly." Squall said. "I'm just remembering what it was like when it was my turn. You see, I decided to build this house in my head, to keep my mind occupied. It was what another SeeD had done, said it worked. There was only one problem. He'd been a builder and I knew jack about houses, had mine finished in fifteen minutes."

"So what did you do for the other thirty five hours?" Zell asked.

"Pretended I'd died." Squall said simply.

"Yeah I did that." Zell nodded before lapsing into silence as they watched Xu circle Mark once more, verbally abusing him and throwing a few kicks to the backs of his legs for a bit of variety.

"I told her that I'd demote her if she didn't break him." Squall said, although he knew he wouldn't do anything of the sort. Demotion of a Garden officer like Xu would have to be approved by the Commander, Headmaster and Chairman of the Garden Authorities and Squall knew neither of those two would demote Xu for failing to break a cadet as mentally strong as Mark.

"And she believes you?"

"Insecure people are very suggestible," Squall answered evenly. "But she's only insecure because she's not a bloke. This sort of profession is dominated by men and has been for centuries, but Xu doesn't see it that way. She's intelligent, tough and well balanced. So she decided to take on the impossible, try to hack it as one of the highest ranking officers in the most revered combat force on the planet and a woman. There's no ladder she can't climb. I'm well impressed."

Xu was sitting down and about to lay into Mark with another tirade of abuse when the door to the cell opened. Xu stood up as Squall walked slowly into the room and then left Mark and the Commander alone. Squall strode towards Mark and circled him before grabbing his right arm and twisting it behind Marks back, getting a groan of pain for his trouble. Squall tightened the lock and then examined Mark's fingers.

"No wedding ring," He growled before releasing Marks arm, striding around him once more and getting in his face. "You queer?"

"Astonol, Corporal, 249986." Mark replied tonelessly.

"That little chap you came in with, your boyfriend is he?" Squall growled. "He's in a nice warm bath right now. Cup of cocoa with a bit of brandy in it, bacon sarnie. You'd like that would you? A nice hot bath with your boyfriend."

"Mark Astonol…"

"Mark?" Squall cut him off, his voice beginning to rise. "We're getting intimate are we? On first name terms are we? You went into to woods with two of your mates! Two men who depended on you and they both end up dead!" Squall paused and glared at Mark who simply stared into space. Squall took a deep breath before continuing in a carefully measured tone. "That upset you does it? The fact that you let your mates down? You're not good enough."

"Astonol, Corporal, 249986." Marks voice shook audibly but their was still a noticeable note of defiance in it.

"You up for another sixteen hours of this?" Squall enquired softly. "Do you reckon you can handle another _sixteen _hours? Do us all a favour and give up. You're not good enough! You let your mates down," Squall took another deep breath before allowing his anger to return in full force. "And disloyal wankers like you do not last long around here!"

"Astonol, Corporal, 249986." Mark spat.

"I'm sorry." Squall said, walking around to stand behind Mark as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a white armband that he slid onto his left arm. "You've come a long way. You've worked hard. It's nothing personal. I'm afraid, you passed." Squall stood in front of Mark and folded his arms, the armband in plan sight.

"I passed." Mark muttered. "So whatever else happens now, I made it. I passed?"

"Whatever." Squall was pretty sure he knew what was going to happen and he was proved right when Mark punched him square in the middle of the face. Squall decided to let it go. After all, he'd punched his interrogator when it had been his turn. He straightened up and grinned darkly at Mark. "I'll let you have that, because from now on your ass belongs to me. Never forget, you're not in SeeD yet."

* * *

**Author Commentary: As with the first chapter a great deal of this chapter was influenced by my uncles own experiences undergoing SAS Selection. I truly felt for Mark when Squall exploited the deaths of Tom and Trent to try and break him and I'm particularly glad he passed. You may be wondering why I didn't show Geoff's interrogation scene and that's because Mark is a more important character and I will devote time to his continuing tribulations and introduce a few of his friends. I'm not sure if we'll see Geoff again but I wouldn't be at all surprised. As for Seifer's new best friend we will see more of Barranca and I'll drop a few hints about what his ultimate agenda is. Just rest assured that he's not a villain and is little more than a secondary character. That said, he is important in helping Seifer deal with his guilt and to strive for redemption. Seifer will be going through the mill big time. By my standards this has been a bit of a slow start but it will move up a gear very soon and believe me there will be blood, not to mention bone, guts, gristle and every other part of the human anatomy. SeeD have a very dangerous job to do and I know from personal experience exactly how frightening and gruesome that job can be. I like to lend realism to my work and that's where Irvine's struggles in Doomsday came from and you can expect more negative effects of combat experience to make themselves known. I'm unsure of whether I'll want to do PTSD again because I've done that before and I don't like repeating myself but it is a subject I feel strongly about and I believe it should get more exposure. Thanks go out to my readers and my lovely reviewers in particular, Fabian B Shanks and princesslolitatheorca654.**

**~Ally **


	4. Chapter 4

**That Vision Thing**

Barranca unlocked a door and led Seifer into a basement apartment in one of Esthar's in-between neighbourhoods. It wasn't exactly the Ritz but it wasn't some grotty flat in a block where the halls were full of heroin and the faint smell of corpses.

"Buildings quiet," Barranca explained conversationally. "Doors reinforced and there's a sewer entrance if company comes to visit."

"What, no cable?" Seifer grunted.

"You go water, electricity, heating – all the basics." Barranca went on evenly. "Rent's all paid up and there's a market on the corner, open all night."

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing, giving me a reason to go on and all," Seifer growled as he turned to towards the door. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to draw the line at being your kept boy."

"Oh, you got someplace else to live?" Barranca blocked his path, his dark eyes sparkling knowingly. "I mean a man of your means must have money tucked away somewhere. You'll find something soon. I'm offering you a place to hang your hat, or your coat. Could say thank you."

"Great." Seifer snorted. "Another ruddy basement."

"You want creature comforts?" Barranca retorted. "You can go to Balamb Garden. This place has everything you need to be a hero. The job requires somewhat of a Spartan existence."

"You call that a bed?" Seifer exclaimed belligerently pointing at an old fashioned single bed in the corner of the living room-cum kitchen cum-bedroom.

"Well it's not like you're going to be sharing it with anyone soon." Barranca grinned as he opened a fridge and took out a bottle of beer. He wrenched the top off and was about to take a drink when Seifer plucked the bottle from his hand and took a drink himself.

"If this is going to be my base of operations I think I should get first dibs on the booze front." He said as he collapsed onto a dilapidated sofa and took another drink and propping his feet up on a battered coffee table.

"No, don't mention it." Barranca grunted as he sat down next to Seifer. "It was my pleasure to furnish this place and fill the fridge entirely out of my pocket."

"What are you after, a thank you?" Seifer demanded. "Thanks for putting me up in what I'm fairly sure will rapidly become a rat infested sinkhole. Now be a good boy and push off."

"What if I get a vision and I need to contact you?" Barranca asked cheerfully. "The phone isn't hooked up yet but it should be tomorrow. You're stuck with me for now. That's why there's aspirin in that cupboard."

"Aspirin?" Seifer remarked, his interest piqued. "I know you said that these vision things hurt but how bad is it?"

"Don't go thinking it's like when you eat ice cream too fast." Barranca grunted. "I'm fairly certain there are no words to describe pain of that magnitude but I'll do my best. Think of your brain being pan seared in its own juices, and the combine that with having a seriously pissed off porcupine crawling around inside your cranium and you might start to get the slightest idea. Usually that sort of pain would knock you out in two shakes of a lamb's tail but it doesn't work that way I'm afraid. You stay conscious and in pretty extreme pain. Best of all, it leaves no long term brain damage so whoever sends them to me can do it over and over again."

"Sounds like fun." Seifer said sarcastically before taking another mouthful of beer.

"Then I'm telling it wrong." Barranca replied before rubbing his throat. "Say, all this yakking is making me thirsty so I'd appreciate a beer if there's one going begging." A beat. "Pretty please."

"Help yourself." Seifer said, gesturing towards the fridge albeit with pretty bad grace.

"You this prickly with all your friends?" Barranca asked.

"I'm soft on the inside." Seifer answered flatly. "You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a TV and an X-Box seeing as I'm likely to be stuck in here for who knows how long until you get a vision."

"Seifer, things would…" Barranca gulped and took a deep breath. "Things would go a lot smoother…" Barranca suddenly dropped his beer and clutched his head with a groan. Seifer watched with an air of detachment as Barranca collapsed onto the floor and started to jack knife and dry heave between roars of pain. He crawled over towards the kitchen sink and pulling himself up vomited into it.

"Oh bloody hell," Seifer groaned as Barranca managed to stand though his legs shook violently. "What was that about?"

"I just had a vision." Barranca panted, resisting the urge to add "duh" to the end of his sentence.

"Oh great." Seifer snorted. "Look, don't go expecting me to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war every time you've got one of those vision thingies."

"Fine, stay here and drink your beer," Barranca said matter-of-factly. "But if a young girl gets murdered and/or raped tonight and you didn't lift a finger to stop it, you have to ask yourself…can you live with that?"

* * *

In an alleyway not far from Seifer's new accommodation a young girl had been heading home from a nightclub when she was accosted by a group of three rough looking men who'd offered her a ride. When she'd declined they'd turned nasty and now she'd been bundled against the wall. Two of them men wrenched her skirt down and held her by the arms while the third advanced unbuttoning his jeans. He was just advancing when a distraction presented itself.

"Evening," A voice said and the men all looked to see a younger man with long blonde hair and a filthy trench coat walking towards them casually and swigging a bottle of whisky.

"Get lost!" One of the men sneered.

"Already am, according to some." The newcomer said as he walked closer until he was less than a metre away from the impending rape. "Never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people will go to in order to get their rocks off."

"Help me!" The girl pleaded before the leader backhanded her viciously.

"I don't think you heard me." The thug said, turning away from his whimpering victim.

"Don't worry." The younger man said before gesturing at the man's unbuttoned jeans. "If you put that apology for a knob anywhere near her I'll take it off with a rusty pen knife and feed it to you."

"You just made the biggest mistake of your…" Before the thug could react Seifer (for it was he) made his move. He spat a mouthful of whisky in the man's face and then jabbed two fingers under the man's rib cage sending him into spasm. Seifer sank his boot into the thug's stomach, doubling him over and then finished the bastard by smashing the whisky bottle over his head. The man was unconscious before he hit the ground. Seifer shook his head contemptuously. "Amateur."

All credit to the other two men they very quickly recognised they were up against a master in unarmed combat. They shoved the girl aside and pulled out weapons. One man carried a knife, the other a length of bike chain that he wrapped around his fist like a crude knuckleduster. Seifer surreptitiously slid a hand into his jacket and closed his fingers around the grip of the Hyperion. He smiled wolfishly as the man with the knife advanced.

"Okay, we can do this the hard way or…actually now that I think on it there's actually just the hard way."

"That's fine by us." The man with the knife growled.

"Now are you sure?" Seifer feigned concern. "We're talking violence, strong language and adult content." He ducked a swing with the knife. "Is that all you got? Your mothers must be so proud."

Both men exchanged enraged looks. Seifer had done the unthinkable and mentioned their mothers. Nothing could get him out of a kicking now, not even the fact that he was obviously a simpleton, albeit a simpleton with a good vocabulary.

"Now, now ladies before we get into anything let's set out some ground rules." Seifer bared his teeth. "No spitting, no biting, no swearing and no tattling to mummy."

The man with the knife let out an inarticulate howl of rage and lunged towards Seifer. Seifer drew back a foot and let him have it, the blow impacting between the man's legs with astonishing force. His lips went mauve and he fell to his knees while an agonised lowing sound like a cow giving birth emerged from his mouth. Seifer wasn't taking any chances and he seized the man by his waistband and the scruff of his neck and hurled him headfirst into a wall. He hit the wall, bounced off and landed amongst some bins, out for the count.

The third man instantly started scrabbling in his jacket and he whipped out a handgun. Before he could even bring it up and fire Seifer had yanked out the Hyperion and sent it spinning through the air. Loaded with centrifugal force, the handle impacted solidly with the bridge if the man's nose, permanently flattening it. Seifer quickly closed the moaning man down and knocked him cold by clapping him on the temples, giving his brain a right old rattling. Seifer straightened up, returned the Hyperion to its sheath and dusted his hands off before heading back the way he'd come. He was stopped however by the girl.

"Thank you, thank you." She cried. "They were going to kill me!"

"Well what do you expect?" Seifer barked spinning around to face her. "Out alone in this neighbourhood at night? I've got half a mind to kill you myself you half-wit."

"What?" The girl exclaimed incredulously.

"I mean honestly, what sort of retard wears heels like that in a dark alley," Seifer pointed at her shoes. "Take two steps and you'll break your bloody ankle."

"I was just trying to get home!"

"Well, then get a cab you moron." Seifer said, ushering her towards the mouth of the alley and the well-lit street beyond, before calling after her. "And on the way, if a stranger offers you candy, don't get in the van!"

"Believe me now?" A familiar voice said and Seifer turned around to see Barranca standing on a fire escape landing.

"What, your victim vision?" Seifer snorted. "Please. Can't throw a stone in this city without hitting some bimbo in trouble."

"Tough guy huh?" Barranca observed as he descended the steps and walked towards Seifer, sparing the unconscious thugs a distasteful glance. "Nice work by the way, taking out these scumbags."

"Oh yeah, epic battle." Seifer growled with an unimpressed air. "Has to be my finest hour."

"You just saved a girl's life." Barranca pointed out evenly. "It's nothing to laugh off. That said, you could try being a little nicer next time. You almost made her cry."

"What are you on about, next time?" Seifer demanded.

"Well that's up to you." Barranca grinned. "My bet is there's a lot more people out there who need saving, who need a champion to fight their corner."

"News flash sparky; I don't need your help." Seifer bit off. "I've been fighting the evils of this world long before you showed up."

"Not like this." Barranca retorted, holding Seifer's gaze steadily. "You just helped a person when there wasn't anything in it for you. Got to say, that's not like the Seifer Almasy I know."

"Oh really?" Seifer took an aggressive step forwards. "And what Seifer Almasy is that?"

"The Seifer that's only out for himself." Barranca went on. "The Seifer who only does good deeds when it's in his own selfish interests, when it serves to accelerate his ambitions."

"You'd best watch your…" Seifer snarled, grabbing Barranca by his lapels.

"I'm just saying," Barranca said, breaking free of Seifer's grip. "You did good." With that Barranca headed off down the alley without a backwards glance leaving Seifer alone with his thoughts. Seifer looked over at the first man he'd knocked out who was groaning. Seifer's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the man by the scruff off his neck and backhanded him across the face, returning him to consciousness. The man's eyes flickered open and he took a few seconds the focus on Seifer's face.

"Oh shit."

"Good you remember me." Seifer growled before grabbing the man's jaw and squeezing savagely until the bones creaked. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. From here on out, this is my city. You and your monkey slaves are going to leave. The beating I just gave you was a warning. If I ever see you in this city again, I will kill you. Oh and seeing as your head broke my bottle I'll be having the contents of your wallet. Quickly now."

The man was clearly terrified and pulled his wallet out, hands shaking. He handed it to Seifer who quickly emptied it of money.

"Thank you kindly."

* * *

All told, five of the twelve cadets had passed the resistance to interrogation. Ordinarily they'd be right back in classes when they returned to Balamb Garden but the Garden Authorities had authorised some compassionate leave due to the death of two of their number. Squall had initially vetoed that idea, reasoning that people didn't get compassionate leave when SeeD's were killed in a firefight but Headmaster Cid had, for once, agreed with the Garden Authorities and overruled the Commander. Tom and Trent had been buried with full military honours in the cemetery overlooking the ocean on Balamb Island.

When they'd returned, Geoff and Mark had gone their separate ways. While Geoff headed off the find his friends Mark headed to the canteen as he was prepared to be a penny to a gold bar that's where his friends would be. He wasn't disappointed. Sitting at their usual table was Zann Zammera and the Pryde twins, Cassie and Marie.

_Nothing _fazed Zann who was laid back in the extreme and prone to expressing himself with short non-committal phrases. He didn't speak much but anyone could tell he was always thinking, watching and listening. Not a great deal was known about Zann's life prior to arriving at the Garden and many people had formed various theories about his past, each one as untrue as the last. It was a well known fact that Zann had applied to Garden by breaking into Squall's office (one of the most secure rooms in one of the most secure buildings on the planet) and leaving his application and contact details on the desk. He didn't have Marks enormous physical presence but he was well built and clearly someone you wanted to avoid pissing off. With his slate grey eyes and darkened brown, almost black hair which hung just over his ears, usually styled in a casual disarray he was a target for girls but Zann was far too focused on his training to make time for frivolity. Unusually he had no particular preference when it came to weaponry, preferring to pick and choose between ranged and melee weapons as they were needed, not to mention his formidable command of various martial arts. Today he had the infamous AK-47 assault rifle slung over his shoulder, complete with telescopic sights and under-barrel grenade launcher.

Aside from almond-shaped brown "doe-eyes", and smooth, long, dark brown hair Marie and Cassie were as different as it was possible for two twin sisters to be. Marie's cool and confident nature ensured her popularity among the male population of the Garden and made sure she was never short of admirers. She was also aware of how popular and pretty she was but was still considerate and intelligent, the only problem being that she really knew how to hide it. While Marie enjoyed playing as a woman those who knew her could tell she was still a somewhat naïve seventeen year old with some growing up to do. Marie was first and foremost a party girl and although she was an excellent combatant she wasn't shy about taking a very lax attitude to academic work and relying on her charm and sheer force of personality to avoid serious punishment. Like Quistis Trepe before her, Marie's weaponry of choice was a rante (chain whip) and the rare Blue Magic.

Cassie was Marie's sister and despite being older by less than ten minutes she was infinitely more mature and was the voice of reason in her sister's world. Cassie styled herself as the original chronic overachiever academically speaking, and most instructors were hailing her as a borderline prodigy though with every reason. Cassie wasn't as outgoing as her sister but she could have a good time. It just didn't consist of jumping into bed with any guy that looked at her. Boys whom Marie had used and dumped frequently approached Cassie were quickly rebuffed as she was too focused on doing her work to the best of her ability to make time for romance. This ethos had attracted the attention of Zann pretty quickly and the two had formed a bond from the moment they met. It had set tongues wagging of course but even Marie and Mark had found precious little evidence the relationship had ever gone beyond a strong friendship. Cassie was also skilled when it came to combat, specialising in several firearms and becoming one of Garden's best snipers.

"I'm back." Mark announced flashing smiles to the twins and knocking his fist against Zann's before sitting down. "Homicidal maniac armed with a shotgun aside I think it went quite well."

"Of course it did." Marie reasoned. "You passed so that's mission accomplished. Sure it's a shame about those two guys but sometimes these things happen. It's a fact of life in what we do. We're a fighting force and we work with bombs and bullets. Sometimes people die."

"There's no argument there Marie," Cassie observed. "But as far as I know it's not supposed to happen in training."

"Sorry for breathing." Marie grumbled. "So go on Mark tell us the war stories. I'll bet the resistance to interrogation training was an interesting experience. I remember when it was my turn."

"Then you must have a pretty good idea what it was like." Mark grunted. "I mainly consisted of beatings, degradation and white noise but after what happened to Trent and Tom there was no way I was going to let them break me. I actually ended up socking the Commander once I'd passed and believe me there are no words for how satisfying that was."

"Well done." Zann said which was his equivalent of a twenty-one gun salute. "So now what?"

"I've still got some compassionate leave." Mark said evenly. "So I'm just going to put my feet up and take it easy."

"How come you get compassionate leave?" Marie spluttered indignantly. "Shouldn't we all get some? I knew Trent and Tim as well as anyone."

"It was Tom Marie," Cassie said without looking up from the essay she was proof reading. "And I don't think jumping their bones and then tossing them aside once you've got what you needed warrants compassionate leave."

"I get compassionate leave because I was out there with them." Mark explained patiently. "We were supposed to look out for each other and they ended up dead. I don't feel guilty because I know it wasn't my fault, it was the bastard the Commander carved up that was to blame. It isn't too big a leap of imagination to think I might be having a hard time with it. I tried to tell the powers that be that I was alright but they told me I was in shock and it was non-negotiable."

"Well it bites." Marie muttered stubbornly.

"I don't know what you're complaining about Marie." Mark allowed a mischievous smile to cross his features. "You do so little work it's like you're on compassionate leave indefinitely.

"That's it!" Marie exploded, leaping out of her chair and facing a supremely untroubled Mark off with her hands on her hips. "You're not my friend anymore." Without another word Marie spun on her heel and stormed out of the canteen, growling graphic and highly disturbing threats to thin air. There was a long silence as Cassie, Zann and Mark watched her go.

"Mark, I think you may have hurt her feelings." Zann said eventually.

"And you should never hurt the feelings of a ruthless, highly trained killer." Mark considered. "Actually, now that I think on it that's pretty good advice."

"Hey it's Captain States-The-Obvious." Cassie chirped.

"Maybe I should go and apologise." Mark muttered contemplatively.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Cassie continued soothingly. "My sister may have displayed a deplorably loose moral compass every now and then but she's not the type to take things personally. She'll have forgotten all about it by tomorrow."

"You're probably right." Mark sighed before hefting his hammer and standing up. "I'm going to burn some energy in the training centre. Either of you two coming?"

"I'll hang here of it's all the same to you." Cassie replied while Zann made a noise of assent.

"I thought you might." Mark teased Cassie with a wink and meaningful glance in Zann's direction.

* * *

When Squall reached his office he discovered Xu, Headmaster Cid Kramer and Quistis waiting for him with stony faces. Squall sighed in annoyance, knowing the conversation they were about to have were unlikely to lead anywhere good.

"I'm afraid to ask." He said.

"We got a call from the director of the Galbadian Intelligence Service." Quistis said as the four entered Squall's office.

"Did they have anything regarding our mysterious SeeD cadet killer?" Squall asked interestedly.

"I'm afraid not," Cid took over. "And I don't think they ever will. Maybe you should've restrained and interrogated him instead of chopping him up and worrying about the negative ramifications of that action later."

"He pissed me off." Squall muttered mutinously. "Okay what did the Galbadian Intelligence Service have to tell us?"

"They had a pretty earth shattering breakthrough on Operation Fire Cross." Quistis said simply.

"They've captured Seifer?" Squall exclaimed.

"Not quite." Quistis grimaced. "The GIS are telling us that the finer details are classified. I tried telling them that where Seifer is concerned there is no such thing as information classified above us but you know them. They're a law unto themselves. At present, all we know is that a Dragon Squadron team tracked him to a derelict apartment building in the lower levels of the Esthar capital city. Seifer managed to fight them off and disappeared into the sewers."

"Well I suppose we should be glad he's lost none of his tenacity." Cid muttered in the background.

"The Galbadian's want to search the city but they were there on a deniable operation in the first place and they want us to persuade the Esthar government to allow a task force into the city." Quistis continued.

"There's no point." Squall shook his head. "You know what Seifer's like. Once he'd been found he'd probably relocate to the other side of the planet. There's no way he'd stay in Esthar if anyone knows he's in the vicinity. If I were him I'd head to Dollet or Centra."

"He might stay in Esthar." Quistis reasoned. "It_ is_ a city of three hundred million people."

"No he won't." Squall retorted stubbornly. "You're right, a city of three hundred million is a big area to search and that's why it took Garden, Esthar and Galbadian security forces four years to find him but Seifer isn't stupid. He knows that Galbadia will probably tell us and he also knows that we are the only people who can second guess him with any degree of success. He'll be halfway across the planet by now. Someone should tell the Galbadian's to keep an eye on their own borders. Hiding directly under the nose of a country that wants his head is very much his style."

"Well there aren't too many candidates." Cid put in. "The last time I talked to the Headmaster of Trabia Garden he seemed more or less ambivalent as to whether Seifer was dead or alive. Esthar haven't bothered renewing his arrest warrant so the only people who are interested in capturing him are Balamb Garden and Galbadia."

"Seifer is no one in this building's favourite person ever," Squall stated. "But I don't particularly relish the prospect of him ending up in the clutches of Galbadia's professional torturers. Cid, Tell the Galbadian's that if they want to deploy a task force in Esthar they'll have to ask the Esthar government themselves." Squall waited until Cid had left before turning to Xu and Quistis. "I'll deal with the Galbadian Intelligence. They'll disclose all the information they have to me and if they don't…well I suppose I could send Zell over there to motivate them. As for you two, once I've got the information I want you to head over the Esthar and pick up Seifer's trail."

"You've got to be joking." Xu spluttered. "He'll be long gone by now, you said so yourself."

"That's why I'm sending you with Quistis." Squall said before turning to his former instructor. "You've known Seifer for years so I'm prepared to bet you can pick up on his tells. You have to track him, capture him and bring him back here. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can try," Quistis said uncertainly. "But…"

"But what?" Squall demanded.

"I got the impression you didn't care whether he was caught or not." Quistis began hesitantly. "You haven't exactly been stretching our resources to the limit looking for him over the last four years."

"No I haven't." Squall smiled slyly. "I thought I'd let the other forces after him do the actual looking. The small print of our mutual assistance treaty with Galbadia forces them to inform us if they find him. Then we act on that information."

"Who knew Squall Leonhart was capable of duplicity." Xu remarked admiringly.

There was a sudden knock on the door and a female SeeD entered before stopping in front of Squall's desk and throwing a salute before handing Squall a manila folder. Squall took it with a nod of thanks and flipped it open. He scanned the report within and when he handed it to Xu he slumped back in his chair with a moan.

"What is it?" Quistis asked.

"It's a report of a vigilante prowling the streets of Esthar last night." Xu said. "According to this, the vigilante hospitalised two debt collectors and then asked the women he saved if they'd, quote; like to get a bottle of hooch and listen to some Sex Pistols records with him."

"Okay so a crazy vigilante is helping the downtrodden in Esthar." Quistis snorted dismissively. "So what? It's hardly our domain."

"Read the description." Squall said.

"Okay," Quistis said taking the file. "Medium build, blond hair, trench coat…and scarred forehead."

"Quistis, go and find Selphie." Squall said immediately. "Tell her to prep the Ragnarok. Xu, contact Esthar Air Station and do whatever it takes to get a flight plan ASAP. If they don't cooperate threaten to go to the President. If they still don't cooperate, go to the President."

* * *

Zann rolled over in his bed and sighed. He was far too wired to sleep and he probably wouldn't have been able to nod off anyway with Mark next door. Mark was well liked in the Garden, and Zann was no exception but that didn't change the fact that Mark's snoring definitely grated on Zann. Snoring was pretty much the wrong term as once the monolithic cadet fell asleep you'd swear a foghorn had kicked off. Zann sat up and swung his legs out of his bed before cupping his face in his hands. Then he stripped off the black sweat pants he wore in bed and reached for his everyday clothes.

Five minutes later he was dressed in combat boots, faded black jeans, a black leather jacket and a blue muscle shirt. He also wore a black headband to keep sweat out of his face. He buckled on a belt with a claymore and large calibre Desert Eagle handgun. Finally he slid his SeeD issue combat knife up his sleeve. Zann wasn't a big believer in using magic or allowing Guardian Forces to bolster his physical attributes. He was quite happy to rely on three things when it came to surviving combat; training, imagination and employment of extreme violence. Many of his instructors were also happy to point out that Zann's fighting style also owed a great deal to luck. He privately thought they had a point but was loath to give them the satisfaction by letting them know.

Even when Mark wasn't snoring, insomnia tormented Zann. He had plenty of ways to deal with it however. He could tire himself by walking into Balamb and getting some fish and chips from the all night chippy or he could go for a run. One of his favourite night past times was going to the Training Centre and hitting various monsters with various weapons until they stopped moving.

In the four years since the Second Sorceress War the Garden Authorities had spent a sizeable amount of funds on the Training Centre, extending it to a veritable jungle over nine floors. It was so tangled that it was difficult to tell where one floor began and the other ended. They'd also extended the roster of monsters. Usually the very worse you'd encounter in the Training Centre was a badly tempered Wendigo or a Bomb but nastier monsters were about. The Garden Authorities always kept a few T-Rexaur's, Blue Dragons and Grendel's around in case qualified SeeD's really wanted to test themselves. They'd originally attempted to get Ruby Dragons and Malboro's but as far as Squall had been concerned that was a bridge too far and had threatened to cut their funding.

Zann was barely twenty paces into the Training Centre before he was accosted by a monster. In this case it was a Red Bat that swooped from the shadows overhead and attempted to suck his blood. Zann ducked out of the way and unsheathed his claymore as the Red Bat came around again. Zann knew from various excursions into the Fire Cavern that Red Bats were adept fliers but had to come to a dead halt in order to turn. Zann quickly deduced the beasts flight path and thrust his sword straight out. Unable to stop in time the Red Bat hit the point at nearly sixty miles an hour, impaling itself. Zann shook the carcass off his blade and continued on his way. It wasn't long until a crunching sound reached his ears. It turned out to be Marie who was dressed in her cadet uniform emerging from the secret area. She stopped when she saw Zann.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Training." Zann replied evenly. "I'd ask what you're doing here but I think I can make an educated guess. Who's the lucky bloke?"

"No one." Marie gave her hair a toss. "This place is dead. You're the only guy I've seen in here all night. I don't suppose you'd like to step up to the plate where your fellow males failed."

"You suppose correctly." Zann said firmly. As far as he knew he and Mark were the only two men to rebuff Marie's advances but that didn't stop her trying. Some might call her pushy or overconfident but they both saw Marie as a friend and nothing more, and as her friends they were happy to put up with her sexual overtures.

"I guess I'm going to spend tonight alone then." Marie shrugged as she fell into step next to Zann. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

"You carrying?" Zann asked.

"My sex drive isn't so out of control that I'd come in here without protection." Marie chuckled indicating the coiled rante at her waist. Then she extracted a few foil packages from her cleavage. "I've also got these if you change your mind."

"Sorry, but I won't." Zann said before striding off with a jerk of the head indicating that Marie was to follow. "I'd prefer to train if it's all the same to you."

"You can't turn me away forever Zann." Marie chuckled before following him deeper into the Training Centre, both of them keeping their eyes peeled as a lot of the monsters present were known for ambush attacks.

It wasn't long until they did come under attack as a quarter of Grat's boiled out of the undergrowth and attacked, obviously under the delusion that strength of numbers would help them overwhelm the two cadets. While Zann whipped out his claymore and deflected several tentacle strikes Marie immediately gave the Grat's pause for thought by casting a Fire spell on one. The Grat let out an unearthly shriek and reeled back. It was badly hurt but it still seemed game for a rumble. Both cadets found themselves facing off two monsters apiece.

Both of Zann's Grat's charged towards him, waving their tentacles madly but Zann was equal to the task of defending himself, effortlessly parrying or dodging the strikes. He was generally content to let the Grat's tire themselves out but the monsters had different ideas. One spat a spray of stomach acid at him and he threw himself backwards to avoid it, landing hard on the ground. The nearest of the Grats started the bludgeon him with its tentacles before scuttling over to him. Zann had a different sort of lesson in mind and he pumped his arm, delivering his knife into his hand. He seized two tentacles and immediately cut through them. Cutting a Grat's tentacles were not like cutting a spider's legs. The tentacles were the Grat's largest organs containing seven major arteries, all of which Zann had just severed. He rolled to avoid a scything tentacle as the Grat thrashed about in its death throes and then faced off its companion.

With a loud crack, Marie's rante flew out, the blade on the end gashing the side of the Grat she'd cast the Fire spell on. The other Grat attempted to beat Marie into submission with its tentacles but she danced nimbly out of range before retaliating with half a dozen blows of her own. Both Grat's backed off slightly, which wasn't a brilliant idea as it gave Marie time to put her skills in Blue Magic to good use. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the Grat she'd nearly immolated; the more insecure of the two. A trio of brilliant blue lasers arced towards it followed by a sequence of powerful electric bolts and, for good measure, a stream of fire capable of melting boulders. With a last mournful moan the Grat expired. Marie then promptly used a powerful Fire spell to launch the remaining Grat into an electric fence.

Zann meanwhile had grown tired of toying with his remaining Grat. He ducked under the tentacles and brought his sword down on top of the beast's bulbous body, directly between the barbed mandibles. The Grat gurgled and Dante pushed his sword down with all his strength, bisecting the creature firmly. He jumped backwards to avoid a tsunami of stomach acid, blood and semi-digested God knows what. He and Marie whirled around at the sound of applause, Zann's hand dropping towards his gun. He immediately relaxed when he saw Squall was standing behind them.

"Well done." He said as he walked forwards until he was only a couple of yards away from them. "I know Grat's aren't exactly fearsome but it's rare to see them dispatched so effectively."

"Thank you." Marie said while Zann simply held the Commanders gaze impassively.

"Really excellent," Squall said, affording Zann's second kill an appraising glance. "A little gruesome maybe but there's no place for squeamishness on the battlefield. I was hoping to run into you two actually."

"You were?" Marie looked at Zann who looked only vaguely surprised at this new nugget of information. "What can we do for you sir?"

"Well it just so happens we've located a target in inner city Esthar of high importance to Balamb Garden's interests." Squall explained. "We're in the process of putting together a team to do what we have to and I think some of our most promising SeeD cadets might benefit from experience on a textbook SeeD mission. You two are on the shortlist and it would stand you in good stead going into your field exams which I believe are not that far off, though you didn't hear that from me."

"This target," Zann spoke eventually. "Can we know who it is?"

"You know how it works Zann." Squall replied. "We can't tell you any particulars about the mission until you fully commit to it. Honestly, sometimes I think the Garden Code needs a rewrite but when you get the Garden Faculty to believe that let me know."

"Okay I'll settle for this." Zann pressed, wondering as he did if it was wise to test the Commander's tolerance. "This target; do you want a clean kill or do you want to send a message?" Luckily Squall seemed unoffended.

"That's what makes this mission so interesting." He chuckled. "We want the target alive but they're not the type to come quietly so something tells me it's not going to end without a major ass kicking, one way or the other."

"Sounds like fun." Marie commented. "I'm in. Zann?"

"I don't see what harm it can do." Zann shrugged after a few moments. "You decide I'm the man for the job then I'll carry it out to the best of my abilities and if I fail I'll face the consequences."

"You don't seem to be too keen." Squall observed. "What's the problem?"

"Maybe I'm not quite ready for a SeeD operation." Zann replied. "Maybe I'm worried I'll mess it up or maybe it's got something to do with the fact that something very large is coming right for us and now is not the best time to chat."

With seconds a T-Rexaur stomped along the path they were currently standing on and came to a halt as it noticed them. Most varieties of the dinosaurian monster in the Training Centres were generally juveniles or the smaller and less aggressive females but as luck would have it this was neither. It was a big solitary male. Males were famous for their bad temper and the SeeD monster handbook made it clear that they should be avoided and if encountered, the best course of action was to back off and avoid irritating the beast. Squall however had seen enough fights with these beasts to realise that it was far too late for that. He slid out his Lion Heart gun blade and raised it defensively, noting with approval that both cadets were up for a fight as well.

The T-Rexaur snorted, miffed by this reaction. Generally speaking, the mere sight of it sent any challenger scurrying madly for cover but these diminutive adversaries were clearly difficult to rattle. The monster opened its mouth and roared deafeningly but both cadets didn't flinch and Squall made a pretty handsome living from being more or less impossible to rattle.

"Marie," He said out the corner of his mouth. "Hang back and give us some magical covering fire. I'll lead the attack, Zann you back me up and we'll do the heavy lifting." It was a cautiously effective strategy. Marie was the most naturally gifted with magic out of the three whereas Zann and Squall were both more disposed to hitting any opponent with various weapons as many times as needed.

Squall immediately darted forwards with Zann right behind him, both with their weapons at the ready. The T-Rexaur lumbered forwards with improbable grace for something so large but as they swung their weapons it turned and brought it's long muscular tail into play, using it like an immense bullwhip. Zann leapt over the blow while Squall dived into a prone position. The monster whirled on Squall and was about to aim a bite at the Commander when Marie cast a Blizzard spell on it. The T-Rexaur staggered backwards, roaring in displeasure. Squall seized on the opportunity, rolling to the side to break away and then coming right back to the attack, stabbing the beast in the side. It bellowed, enraged and spun towards Squall and Zann took this opportunity to open up a cut near the base of the tail. A second Blizzard spell from Marie struck the monster and it howled before baring it's teeth. Squall grimaced. Far from weakening the beast their attacks thus far only seemed to have infuriated it even more.

The Blizzard spells had been the most effective attack so the T-Rexaur batted Squall and Zann aside and went for Marie who held her ground and stopped the attack immediately with a Blind spell. The beast snapped, sensing she was nearby but she'd already dived between its legs and moved over towards Squall. That was when Zann decided to make the monsters life even more difficult. He whipped out his Desert Eagle and fired a shot in the air to get the monsters attention. It turned towards the sound and Zann paused briefly to aim before squeezing the trigger, emptying the remnants of the magazine.

The Desert Eagle is a large calibre weapon, and nothing on the planet can ignore eight .357 calibre rounds ripping into it from close range. Zann's target was the T-Rexaur's head and while the thick ridge of bone above the eyes stood up to the bullets admirably they still beat out a sledgehammer tattoo on its head. Marie and Squall chose this moment to wallop it with twin Blizzard spells. The monster howled in agony. It must have thought the whole world was conspiring against it. Every time it had prey in its sights something else got in the way.

Most people might have felt a shred of pity for the T-Rexaur but Squall Leonhart was not most people. Even injured, a T-Rexaur was a dangerous opponent and Squall had seen too many people killed or seriously injured because they failed to realise that fact. Now was the time to terminate the thing, and that was what the Commander did, with extreme prejudice. He darted forwards and drove the tip of his gun blade upwards into the roof of the monsters mouth and then pulled the trigger. With a last mournful moan, the monster collapsed, shuddered once and then went still.

"I think that was probably the big action for the night." Squall said. "I'll put both your names down for the snatch operation shall I? You two should probably get some sleep as you've got class in the morning."

Zann snorted quietly. With Mark snoring like a foghorn he didn't see himself getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

**Author Commentary: Who spotted the Apocalypse Now reference? This chapter was set up for two main reasons. First, to show that Seifer is trying to make amends for the crimes he's committed even if he's a little unsure of Barranca's ultimate agenda. I also wanted to introduce my original characters in the shape of Zann and the Pryde twins. I know three at once might seem like a bit much but there will not be any more for quite some time as I am planning on bringing Rinoa into the story and giving a bit more to the characters we know and love. I understand Marie's character might not appeal to a lot of people but she has her good characteristics and I hope to bring them out in time with the right people. As for Cassie, you'll see her more in upcoming chapters and you'll get to see how exactly her ambiguous relationship with Zann works. She and Zann may seem a little uptight and boring but they do have other sides that will come out with time. I personally love both twins simply because they are chalk and cheese on the inside and they play off each other remarkably well and some romance for one of them will be coming up quite soon. Needless to say, it's not going to be plain sailing because where the hell is the fun in that? You may have picked up on me mentioning the director of the GIS (Galbadian Intelligence Service) and you'll meet him very soon. Without spoiling the surprises I can tell you he is a major piece of work and not to be trifled with. Oh and raise your hand if you were cheering Seifer on during his intervention during the attempted rape. I know I was. Thanks aplenty go out to my readers and reviewers, especially Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope to hear from you again and if you have any questions or suggestions than please feel free to drop me a PM and I'll do my best to reply promptly.**

**~Ally**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Snatch**

Squall had long suspected that Galbadia had Balamb Garden and most of their high ranking officials including himself under constant surveillance so he decided that it was more or less inevitable they'd find out about the snatch operation on Seifer he was currently devising. This was why he was unsurprised when the GIS called and told Squall that one of their officials was coming to see him and that he could expect stiff penalties if he made them feel unwelcome. What Squall hadn't expected was the identity of the visitor as he was none other than Gaston Deling, director of the GIS _and _Commanding Officer of the Dragon Squadron.

Gaston Deling was the son and heir of Galbadia's former dictator, Vinzer Deling until Sorceress Ultimecia (in Edea's body) had publicly murdered him and proclaimed herself as his replacement. Knowing he was a target under the new regime Gaston (who at the time was a hardened and decorated Captain in the Dragon Squadron) had promptly resigned, taking a number of his fellow Special Forces soldiers with him and started a violent resistance against Edea, Seifer and the entire Galbadian military as a whole. After the battle of the Gardens in Centra, General Fury Caraway had been appointed "caretaker president" and he'd appointed Gaston and several of his fellow revolutionaries to high offices. Gaston had repaid the favour by openly endorsing Caraway when he ran for the official office of President. It was popular belief in Galbadia that the backing of a war hero had been a decisive factor in Caraway's landslide victory.

Squall decided that he might as well make an effort to be diplomatic so he awaited the arrival of the director dressed in his SeeD uniform. It wasn't long until three armour plated limousines thundered into the Parking Lot before screeching to a halt and disgorging a large number of soldiers, junior politicians, assorted hangers on and the director of the Galbadian Intelligence Service who wasn't looking very happy to say the least. While Squall, Cid and Xu all stood to attention and saluted Gaston stormed forwards aggressively and got in Squall's face, breathing very hard. Xu and Cid exchanged wary looks. Just how was the Commander going to react to that? As it happened, they needn't have worried.

"Welcome to Balamb Garden, Director." Squall said calmly. "If there's anything you need then please don't hesitate to let us know."

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Gaston growled between tightly clenched teeth. "I had better be impressed because I have to report back to the President and if he's not satisfied I, and by extension you, will be in some very hot water."

"Director, may I suggest you calm down." Cid interjected. "Here at Balamb Garden we do not respond well Galbadia's delusion that they own the world. If you remember the last time your nation disagreed with Balamb Garden's interests it ended rather badly. Should you continue to threaten us I will have no choice but to call a certain SeeD specialising in martial arts down here to throw you out on your big meaty head, don't think for one minute he can't." Gaston took that as a personal insult.

"Excuse me…" He began starting forwards aggressively.

"We have to conference room set up for our meeting." Squall said brightly, blocking Gaston's path to Cid. "Follow me if you'd please."

Gaston certainly didn't look like he pleased but followed Squall all the same trailed by his entourage. Again Cid and Xu exchanged uneasy glances. Gaston didn't look like he was in a particularly reasonable mood but they were confident in Squall's ability to handle him. Truth be told, that was what worried them.

The conference wasn't a brilliant advertisement for Garden-Galbadia relations as Gaston spent the first hour or so denouncing the mutual assistance treaty as a sham and insisting the small print was there simply to allow Garden first bite at the apple where the world's most wanted man was concerned.

"We're certainly not stopping you going after him, Director." Squall said pleasantly, evidently enjoying the tantrum. "Have at it and be sure to send us a postcard to let us know how it goes."

"You and I both know that the Esthar government won't let us send a task force in there to take him down!" Gaston howled. "We asked you to help persuade them but you wouldn't listen! That's exactly why our treaty is a sham!"

"First off, you didn't ask permission before you sent the Dragon Squadron in, albeit on a deniable operation." Squall replied easily. "Secondly, no matter how much you don't like it Seifer Almasy is still Balamb Garden property and will be until I say otherwise or he dies. We have no intention of handing him over to you so you can torture him to within an inch of his life and then execute him probably without a trial, knowing your nation's cavalier apology for a justice system."

"What's the problem with that?" Gaston bellowed. "It's not like he doesn't deserve it!"

"What Seifer deserves is open to debate." Cid said mildly. "He was a Sorceress' Knight and we may need information he has should a Sorceress ever arise again."

"Like the Sorceress in this building." Gaston laughed darkly, forcing his temper back under control. "Don't even try to deny it. I know about President Caraway's daughter. I didn't think you of all people would take in a Sorceress."

"You'll not bring Cadet Heartily into this if you know what's good for you." Squall said, his smile dropping like a stone. "This meeting is about Seifer Almasy and if your bring anyone else into it, especially a cadet at this establishment someone will kick your ass so hard you'll never sit down again." Squall gestured over his shoulder at Zell, who waved merrily.

"You cannot go after Seifer Almasy." Gaston protested vehemently. "As Director of the Galbadian Intelligence Service I forbid it."

"And you'll be stopping us…how?" Zell enquired cheerfully.

"Thank you Zell." Squall muttered before turning to Gaston. "He'll threaten to call the President."

"Where do you think my orders came from?" Gaston bit off.

"Oh I don't doubt your orders came straight from the top." Cid broke in. "I hate to tell you this but Balamb Garden, all its personnel and assets are not subservient to anyone, least of all you and your trigger happy countrymen. Seifer Almasy is our property and if you don't like it there's nothing you can do about it."

"You'd be surprised what we can do about those things when we need to." Gaston retorted icily. Everyone in the room read the subtext in Gaston's words correctly and Zell's reaction was by far the most predictable. After the Ultimecia Affair Zell had been put on an anger management course that had done nothing to curb his infamously explosive temper. In fact it was so tedious it had the opposite effect.

"Is that a threat?" He roared, storming forwards. Had Xu and Squall not pushed him backwards he probably would've beaten Gaston into a coma, and then beaten him some more.

"Easy Zell." Cid said quietly before addressing Gaston coldly. "Director, Balamb Garden values a profound moral stance as well as an unshakeable professional standard. Part of that unshakeable professional standard involves defending ourselves tenaciously against any threat so if I were you I'd think twice about threatening us."

"And if you don't I'll lock you in the MD Level until you learn some manners." Zell thundered as Squall and Xu manhandled him into a seat. "Seifer is ours, and while I for one am not happy about it we won't be handing him over to you in a hurry." A beat. "Actually now I think on it that makes me very happy because I can get the pleasure of beating him to death myself."

"We're not going to kill him unless we have to Zell." Squall said.

"Here's hoping." Gaston sneered. "Okay ,I'll settle for attaching some of my men to your unit."

"Oh really?" Squall chuckled. "What are the chances they are the only ones who come back alive saying that Seifer killed my operatives and that he gave you no choice but to open fire?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed but in our job people occasionally die." Gaston chuckled nastily. "Even cadets on training if what I've been hearing on the grapevine is true."

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed and everyone froze, sensing that Gaston had gone too far. Squall subtly moved away from the table, giving Zell a free path but the brawler seemed to be petrified like everyone else. Squall sighed and when he spoke his voice was laced with frozen anger.

"Okay here's what going to happen." He growled. "I'm going to give you a chance to take that back. Do so, and we'll say no more about it. Fail, and this meeting is over and I'll be lodging a complaint about your professionalism with the President."

"Ooh you'll lodge a complaint?" Gaston scoffed. "Dearie me, losing two cadets in training. Whatever next?"

"Okay now, I'm definitely lodging a complaint." Squall said. "As for Zell, I sense he's got something we wants to get off his chest about the turn this conversation has taken. SeeD Dincht, oblige us will you?"

The next thing everyone heard was a loud and almost comical thud as Zell's knuckles connected with the side of Gaston's head, knocking him from his chair and sending him crashing to the ground. Several of Gaston's bodyguard whipped out handguns and aimed them at the enraged brawler. They didn't fire mainly because the Balamb Garden staff in the room, including Xu, Squall and Cid pulled out their own side arms. Squall whistled and a round dozen of SeeD's stormed into a room armed with compact machine guns, and six other SeeD's relieved the Galbadian's of their weapons. Zell seized Gaston by the scruff of his neck and hauled him unceremoniously to his feet. Gaston shoved him away and fixed Squall with a glare.

"I'll be reporting this to the President!" He raged. "You haven't heard the last of this! If you bring in Seifer Almasy alive and refuse to hand him over to face Galbadian justice, then I'm sure it will constitute an act of war." Treating them all to a look of vindictive fury, Gaston Deling swept out of the room.

"Xu," Squall said. "Take the SeeD guard with you and make sure those brain trusts leave Balamb Garden immediately. If they get uppity detain them in the detention block until they want to be more reasonable." Xu nodded and marched out after the Galbadian delegation.

"Right," Zell giggled as he returned to his chair. "That went very well; don't you think that went very well?"

"Do you think he was lying?" Cid said hesitantly. "Caraway wouldn't declare war on us for not handing Seifer over would he?"

"No, no way." Squall shook his head vehemently. "We've all met Caraway. He's a politician and a blunt instrument, but no matter how abrasive he is, he's no warmonger. Plus, he won't endanger Rinoa by attacking Balamb Garden. When all's said and done, she's still his daughter."

"Still," Cid persisted. "I've worked alongside Gaston Deling before and I can tell you he's not in the habit of making empty threats."

"Maybe he thinks he's making a real threat." Squall shrugged. "But he's living in a dream world. The final decision for a declaration of war has to come from the President and even Caraway isn't that stupid."

* * *

During downtime SeeD members and cadets had developed a number of "games" to pass the time, most of them requiring very little in the way of skill and talent, but a great deal in the way of "balls". Mark and Irvine were both sitting at a table facing each other. This game was one of their favourites. They would place their hands palm down four inches above a candle, with a shot glass of water placed on the back. If they spilt a drop or the flame was extinguished or one person moved their hand away they would lose. The rest of the SeeD's and cadets would bet heavily on the players.

"I'm putting another fifty on Mark." One SeeD said as he slapped a bundle of paper money onto the table.

"You alright there?" Irvine said as he stared Mark down. "Thought I saw a little wobble there."

"Me?" Mark replied evenly. "No, I'm steady as a rock."

Irvine eventually took his hand away and dunked it in an ice bucket to a chorus of groans and cheers from the others. As Irvine accused Mark of cheating Squall came up behind Selphie who turned to him.

"I didn't think you'd approve of this Squall." She said.

"Boys will be boys, and that includes the girls." Squall said evenly before shouldering his way through the crowd and addressing Mark. "Cadet Astonol, how about you and I?"

"No way." Mark shook his head vehemently. "You hold the record. Two minutes and twenty seconds if I remember correctly. Any other takers to take on the Commander? Someone must fancy their chances."

"I'll take you on." Cassie Pryde said as she sat down.

"Well, well, well," Irvine drawled to Zann as Squall sat down and stared into Cassie's eyes trying to un-psych her. "Looks like your lady friend has got some pretty serious backbone to take on Squall."

"That's Cassie for you, always wanting to be the best." Zann replied. "One of these days she'll be a better sharpshooter than you. Oh and for the record she is _not_ my lady friend."

"No, no, of course not." Irvine chuckled before raising his voice as he lit the candles with a Zippo lighter. "Okay you two, I want a nice clean fight with no biting, pinching or punching. Okay starting the stopwatch and taking all bets." Several SeeD's and cadets immediately slapped money down on the table, betting in favour of Squall. Squall stared Cassie down but she refused to get drawn into a staring contest and blinked freely, keeping her hand quite steady.

"No one backing Cassie?" Zann asked before putting in a twenty Gil note. "I'll give you odds of three to one there."

"Okay," Marie said, suddenly possessed by a feeling of sisterly solidarity. "I'll give you fifteen on Cassie."

Ninety seconds later, there was still no change and sweat was starting to bead on both players brows. A few other brave souls had joined Zann and Marie betting on Cassie but the vast majority were still betting in Squall in spite of the rare but unmistakeably confident smirk growing on Cassie's features. Finally on the stroke of two minutes Squall took his hand away to a chorus of groans from those who had backed him while Zann, Marie and a few others collected their winnings gleefully.

"Sorry guys," Squall said with an apologetic grin before looking to Cassie. "It's over Cassie, you've won."

"What's the time?" Cassie gasped at Irvine.

"It's over." Squall repeated. "You've won."

"No I'm going for the record." Cassie threw another glance at Irvine. "What's the time at?"

"She's going to do it as well." Irvine said as the candle flame continued to fry Cassie's palm. "Two minutes eighteen…two minutes nineteen…it's a record! New world record!"

But Cassie wasn't quite ready to give up and she kept her hand in place as the time passed three minutes while the enthralled watchers kept their eyes on her. It was finally coming up on three minutes thirty when Cassie took the glass off her hand and slapped her palm down on the flame, extinguishing it as she allowed herself a small proud grin. Squall picked up his shot glass and tipped it at her as if proposing a toast.

"Congratulations." He said before standing up and walking over to Marie who was still collecting her winnings. "You know, something tells me your twin may have a slightly masochistic streak."

"She's just Cassie." Marie shrugged. "That's the thing about her, once she commits to something she wants to be the best and there's not a great deal that can stop her. You could argue she'll do anything to beat someone like you. With all due respect Commander you're known throughout the Garden as someone who's good at everything and that simply makes Cassie that bit more desperate to beat you at something no matter how trivial."

"Well a desire to win is certainly a valued quality among SeeD cadets." Squall nodded before turning serious. "As for you, I wonder if you could find Cadet Zammera and the two of you meet me in the lecture theatre as soon as possible."

Zann and Marie had both quickly changed into their cadet uniforms and they sprinted down to the lecture theatre, both acutely aware that a good performance in this mission could help their grades when they finally took their field exam. Marie was clearly excited at the prospect of a real mission that would give her a taste of SeeD-ship. Zann was also excited but he was the type of person who'd keep a lid on his emotions if a nuclear bomb went off.

The lecture theatre was nearly empty when they entered. Usually it could seat over a hundred cadets but today only Xu and Quistis were seated while Squall was standing at the lectern. He waited until they'd sat down.

"It's good to see you two." He smiled. "I assume you're still up for this job given the effect it could have on your SeeD field exam results?"

"Absolutely sir." Marie replied enthusiastically. By contrast Zann had apparently decided that one short nod was an adequate affirmative. Squall shrugged before deciding to start the briefing on the snatch operation, regardless of Zann's substantial enthusiasm deficiency.

"Before we begin I need to impress on you that what I'm about to say must go no further than this room." Squall said. "Should anyone talk I will find out whom and personally ensure the culprit is expelled or sacked. The preparations for this mission will be carried out in absolute secret and the reason for this is simple. The target for this operation is Seifer Almasy."

As Seifer's photograph appeared on the screen, Xu and Quistis showed nothing even approaching surprise due to their foreknowledge of the plan. The same could not be said for Marie and Zann. Marie looked like someone had slapped her in the face with an electric eel while one of Zann's eyebrows rose just noticeably.

"Due to the targets reputation for violence we will be carrying weapons loaded with live rounds." Squall continued. "We will try to take him alive if possible but not at the expense of our lives. We believe he is somewhere in the Esthar capital city and our surveillance and intelligence experts are working with the Esthar police and security forces to narrow the location down. The President has been informed and Esthar Special Forces will act as back-up."

"Excuse me Commander," Marie interrupted. "But how are we actually getting to Esthar?"

"We'll be inserting by means of the Ragnarok piloted by SeeD Tilmitt." Squall answered promptly. "I will liaise with the Estharian authorities and coordinate the mission from the Ragnarok, although I will be ready to come in if things go south. The main team will be led by Quistis with Xu and Marie providing magical cover. Zann will assist Quistis in the attack if Seifer decides not to come quietly. Given his history that is a reasonable assumption. Now if anyone wants to back out, now is the time." When no one moved he nodded and touched another button. "This is the list of all the equipment you'll need from the armoury, and I suggest selecting steel tipped ammunition in case Seifer's wearing body armour."

"Anything else Squall?" Xu asked.

"This is a high risk mission so you all reserve the right to refuse to undertake it with no repercussions." Squall said. "You must also make sure your affairs are in order and your wills are up to date. You must also junction a GF and make sure you have a plentiful supply of high level magic. Use of Forbidden magic is prohibited unless in situations of extreme danger due to the abundance of civilians. Any civilian deaths are to be avoided at all costs. I think that's all you need to know at present."

* * *

Seifer was walking back to his basement apartment from the market with a carrier bag full of beer and varied meat products, though Seifer was unsure about what noise any of them had made when they were alive. His phone had been hooked up and Barranca usually called once a day; or twice if he was really unlucky. Seifer wasn't expecting a call as he'd hospitalised a couple of thugs less than six hours previously and nearly drowned the loan shark they were working for by hanging him upside down in the sewers, only cutting him down when he promised to follow Seifer's advice and leave town pronto. In all fairness Barranca's vision had only shown the thugs threatening a young pregnant woman but Seifer decided he might as well let the local scum know that if they were victimising anyone in the area it wouldn't be long until Seifer paid them a visit. In what the former Sorceress' Knight had decided was a Herculean feat of restraint he hadn't actually killed anyone yet but should Barranca direct him towards a murderer or should he arrive too late, the Hyperion would definitely end up bloody.

Seifer did not know that an Esthar surveillance drone was flying overhead at this precise moment and every single piece of high tech equipment was focused on him entirely. The Esthar government may not have renewed the arrest warrant for Seifer but their close diplomatic ties to Garden meant that they were only too happy to use their technology to help Garden's interests. Once the drone had collected enough data and information about Seifer's habits, routine and approximate location it would be no mean feat for the Esthar Special Forces to cut off all escape routes while the SeeD team swooped in to make the arrest. In order to minimise civilian casualties the Esthar police force would discreetly clear as many nearby buildings as possible once a location was determined. Everyone had been informed that a high value target was in the area but no one aside from the SeeD team, the chief of police and the Commanding Officer of the Special Forces knew who exactly this "high value target was".

In order to avoid spooking Seifer the Ragnarok was to land outside the city instead of at the Air Station and the SeeD team would be housed at Special Forces garrison near Tears Point until the order to go came through. Squall had guessed that some of the most hardened and well trained soldiers in the vast Esthar military might be slightly disgruntled at having to share their base with a foreign force either in their late teens or early twenties. He was pleasantly surprised as all the soldiers seemed easy-going and happy to do anything to help. They were SeeD after all, and everyone knew what that meant. That said, even if they were the best that didn't stop some soldiers attempting to chat Marie up. Usually, she would be tickled pink at the attention but Marie wouldn't have gotten very far in Garden if she didn't know when to be serious.

"Commander Leonhart," A well-built, ruddy faced man wearing a colonel's insignia, fatigues and a blue beret said as he shook Squall's hand and directed him towards an administrative building. "Welcome to Foxtrot Garrison. I am Colonel Strife and it is my men you'll be working with. Is there anything I can get you and your colleagues?"

"We're fine Colonel." Squall said before reconsidering. "The crates carrying our equipment and weaponry are still on the Ragnarok. I'd appreciate it if some of your men could take it to our quarters."

"Of course." The colonel strode over to four soldiers and immediately started to scream orders at them before walking back to Squall as the soldiers scrambled to carry out their commanders orders. Squall wouldn't admit it but he was wary of the other man. This was his base after all and although the colonel seemed friendly enough there was and edge of steel in his voice. You wouldn't rise up through the ranks of the Esthar Special Forces unless you were extremely tough. Squall made a mental note to avoid antagonising him, as this mission involved a considerable amount of team work. The colonel turned to Quistis, Xu, Marie and Zann. "I need to speak with the Commander privately. As for you, you have free range of the base. If you get lost, just ask someone for directions."

"Thank you sir." Quistis said.

"I might as well warn you two," The colonel went on, his eyes on Marie and Zann. "That your youth might make some of my men resent your presence but feel free to let myself or another officer know if you get a hard time. Enjoy your stay."

"Oh I'm sure I can hold my own around here." Marie remarked before wilting under the glare Xu sent her way.

"Not until we're off duty." She said, her tone making it perfectly clear that she'd brook no nonsense. "Oh and before you ask, we're off duty when we get back to Garden. Until then, keep the raging hormones under control."

"Spoil my fun." Marie muttered under her breath.

The colonel led Squall to an office that looked like it belonged to a junior bank manger as opposed to the commanding officer of one of the world's most ruthless and highly trained fighting forces. The colonel sat down before opening a fridge next to his desk and pulling out two bottles of beer, offering one to Squall who hesitated briefly before taking it and twisting the top off with a grunt of effort.

"Right," The colonel said after taking a mouthful of beer. "Let's cut the crap and get down to brass tacks here. Why don't you tell me about your colleagues? I don't know about you but I like to know who I'm working with."

"As you know, I'll be coordinating the mission from here." Squall said. "Though I will insert by means of a HALO jump it things go south. As for the team on the ground, the leader will be Quistis Trepe. I've known her for years and aside from myself she probably knows the target better than anyone else. She helped train him after all and she also has a command of Blue Magic second to none. Once the target is hit with that…well if you handed him a gun he'd be incapable of hitting the planet he was standing on."

"I'm guessing that's a euphemism and you're not seriously considering handing him a firearm." The colonel remarked dryly.

"Xu Kent is my second in command and she also has experience in training the target." Squall continued. "She's also an expert in battlefield medicine and given the probability of bloodshed I think her skill will be invaluable. She's also an excellent close-quarters combatant and I feel a great swell of pity for the target if Xu gets to him first. To say the very least their relationship was a little…stormy."

"Well we are talking about Seifer Almasy." The colonel said. "I've read his file and I have to say it doesn't look like he's going to come quietly. Next?"

"You might as well know that neither Marie Pryde or Zann Zammera are not qualified SeeD members…" He held up a hand to silence the colonel who let out a vehement exclamation. "…but if you knew them like I do you wouldn't be worried. In my personal opinion the field exam if redundant with those two. First of all, Marie is also a Blue Magic specialist and she's every bit as talented as Quistis. In my experience there's no such thing as too much Blue Magic and it may even be possible for Marie to seduce Seifer into hand cuffs. If she leaves this base without her phone's contact list doubled I'll eat my gun blade. Finally, we have Zann Zammera. His skill set is very colourful. His weapons of choice are a claymore and various firearms but he's also one of the best martial artists I've seen in a long while. As far as I'm concerned choosing two SeeD cadets to come along is irrelevant. They'll do their job to the very best of their abilities."

"Are they sure they know what they're getting into?" The colonel asked. "I have twin boys their age and something inside me tells me it's wrong to talk to kids that age about how to defuse bombs, deal with hostage takers and the best thing to do when terrorists start shooting at you."

"They know what they're getting into." Squall said evenly. "They've trained for this day in and day out and they can drop out at any point with no repercussions. I don't see it happening personally. Trust me, Zann and Marie are the two best cadets in Balamb Garden and they know what they're doing. If you're still not convinced I'll have you know that Zann applied for Garden by breaking into my office and leaving his application and contact details on the desk."

"I'll take your word for it." The colonel nodded.

"I'm glad we're on the same page." Squall replied before moving on to the next order of business. "As you know SeeD operate in extreme secrecy most of the time and this is no different. If the mission succeeds we're quite happy for you to take complete responsibility. This will involve a few angry e-mails from the director of the GIS, threatening you with diplomatic sanctions, trade embargos or knowing him, invasion but just ignore him and he'll go away."

"Gaston Deling," The colonel spoke the name with loathing. "Never liked him."

"No one really likes him." Squall agreed. "You know, if we were ever called upon to assassinate him, his old lady would probably send us a thank you card."

* * *

Less than forty-eight hours after the SeeD team had arrived at the airbase, Esthar Intelligence called and said that the probability of the man they were targeting was indeed Seifer Almasy, stood at ninety nine percent probability. For Squall this was enough and the SeeD team backed up by a battalion of Special Forces headed into the city to grab Seifer, dead or alive.

When choosing equipment for this mission, Squall had been mindful of Seifer's reputation for extreme violence. This was why Quistis, Xu, Zann and Marie were all dressed in flameproof black overalls, Kevlar vests, body armour, belt kits and Mark 7 combat helmets complete with throat mikes and bulletproof visors. They were armed with a wide variety of weaponry, including knives, axes, flash bang grenades and tear gas canisters in their belt kits. Xu was carrying a sawn-off pump action shotgun in case they had to blast open doors while the others all carried Sig Sauer P226 handguns strapped to their thighs. In addition to this impressive armoury they were all armed with high powered Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine guns. As they spread out across the street, they barely looked human; more like robots sent from some future war.

"I'll take point." Quistis murmured before moving quickly across the street to crouch at the corner of a building. Zann followed while Xu and Marie stayed where they were, keeping their eyes open. Quistis started to move along the road slowly and as she did Marie and Xu moved up behind Zann. While Zann and Marie kept their eyes pinned on Quistis, Xu looked over her shoulder and turned around, in case a threat was coming up behind. The police had cleared the entire neighbourhood and the result was an eerie stillness to the night. Xu found herself wishing she had night vision goggles but it was too late to worry about that now.

Once Quistis reached another junction she gestured for her team to follow her, in the same order as before. Speed was not an issue as the Esthar forces had the whole neighbourhood sealed up, above and below ground. Seifer couldn't escape but this knowledge was not much comfort to Quistis. Most people would say escape was impossible but Quistis knew Seifer specialized in the impossible and she suspected he hadn't let himself go. Still, Quistis was confident in her team to help her apprehend Seifer, or to kill him should the situation call for it. That was when their attention was caught by the sound of a door opening.

In the dim light Quistis was able to make out a figure emerging from a basement apartment. It was too dark to establish whether it was the man they were looking for so Quistis decided to take a calculated risk. She opened a pouch on her belt kit and pulled out a magnesium flare. She popped it and hurled it towards the figure before stepping out and raising her weapon, clicking the safety catch off.

"Stand still!" She roared at the figure while Zann, Xu and Marie also raised their weapons and moved to cover Quistis. "Stand still and keep your hands where I can see them."

"Really Instructor," Seifer's familiar voice drawled. "There's no need for the weapons. If you think I'm still interested in killing you than you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do."

"Your track record counts against you." Xu commented waspishly. "So you'll forgive us if we don't take your announcements of good will seriously."

"Oh hello Xu!" Seifer quipped with a jaunty wave. "I didn't recognise you in that get up. I must be important if they've sent at least two of the Garden high ups after me. Speaking of which I'm assuming my dearest rival will turn up soon enough."

"That depends." Quistis said as she moved closer to Seifer, eyeing him through her sights. "On whether you come quietly."

"That's going to be a bit of a problem actually." Seifer informed her pleasantly. "You see, I've got a sweet little set-up around here. I've taken on a semi-professional gig as a problem fiver, or eraser if the job calls for it. I've started helping out the downtrodden in this neighbourhood by finding some local scumbags giving them grief and rearranging their faces."

"Vigilantism." Xu observed bitingly. "Very honourable."

"I thought so too." Seifer chuckled. "That said I cannot do my job while I'm detained at Balamb Gardens pleasure so why don't you run along and tell Squall you couldn't find me."

"If you think that's going to happen you're even stupider than I thought." Xu commented. "We were sent in to capture you, dead or alive so save yourself the pain and us the trouble and surrender."

"You know I can't do that." Seifer said.

"I thought you might say that." Xu smiled as she raised her gun menacingly and took an aggressive step forwards.

"It seems we're at a bit on an impasse then." Seifer smiled before acting quickly. During his tenure as a Sorceress' Knight he'd learnt how to cast magic without the help of a Guardian Force so that's what he did. He launched two Flare spells in quick succession, one at Quistis and one at Xu. Despite the fact that Flare was really just a glorified Firaga spell there was enough power behind them to take both women off their feet. Then Seifer spun around and hared off down an alleyway, being chased by a half dozen bullets from Zann and Marie's weapons.

While Marie rushed over to her downed comrades, casting Cure spells as she went Zann reacted quickly and sprinted after Seifer. Seifer had been sleeping rough for four years running and he wasn't quite as fit and he used to be. Zann on the other hand was an aspiring SeeD cadet and his training had given excessive strength and stamina. Seifer had barely made it fifty yards down the alley before Zann bundled into him. Both men hit the ground hard. Seifer kicked out, his boot impacting solidly with Zann's helmet and momentarily stunning him. Seifer leapt to his feet and pulled out the Hyperion before adopting a combat stance.

Zann was no fool and he knew that going toe to toe with Seifer would not end well, so he pulled out a flash bang grenade and popped the pin. As the name suggested a flash bang exploded with a blinding flash of igniting magnesium and a bang that made everyone in the vicinities head ring. Zann was protected by his helmet but Seifer could not claim the same. While he was disorientated Zann kicked out, knocking the Hyperion from Seifer's grasp. Then he grabbed Seifer by his lapels and slammed him against the wall before bringing his knee up and trying to wind Seifer. Even deafened and half blinded Seifer was a dangerous adversary and he slid out his Uzi before firing a single shot into Zann from close range. The round didn't penetrate the Kevlar but Zann was thrown against the opposite wall with a groan of pain. Seifer honoured him with an upwards kick under the jaw before turning to see Xu, Quistis and Marie coming straight at him. Seifer loosed a burst from his Uzi before scooping up the Hyperion and sprinting off as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Give it up Seifer!" Quistis yelled. "There's nowhere for you to go."

"You'd be surprised." Seifer muttered to himself as he sprinted towards a three metre high wire fence. A single bound took him most of the way up but he had to depend on upper body strength to climb the rest of the way and over the top. He landed cat like before seizing a metal dustbin and swinging it into Marie who had attempted to climb after him, knocking her off the fence. Seifer's satisfaction quickly turned to horror as Marie brought her Blue Magic into play and tore a hole in the fence with a spray of acid. Seifer immediately spun around and sprinted casting spells over his shoulder at random. He came to another wire fence but before he could climb over it Xu and Zann dragged him bodily off and forced him against a wall, holding him by his arms while Quistis advanced, cuffs at the ready. Seifer kicked out, sending Quistis crashing backwards into Marie, knocking both women down. Then he kneed Xu in the guts and freed his arm, using it to sock Zann in the kidneys before back tracking and heading back the way he'd come.

"He is really beginning to piss me off." Marie said as she and Zann followed. "Do you think we should try lethal takedowns?"

"I don't think it's at that stage just yet." Zann replied. "We just need to herd him towards the Esthar troops."

Seifer meanwhile had managed to get a lead on his pursuers and while he was out of sight he decided to go to ground, heading into the sewers and seeing if they could follow him down there. He wrenched a manhole open and headed down the ladder before pulling the manhole closed, leaving the SeeD's none the wiser. Seifer knew that it wasn't a brilliant idea but he was intent on staying in Esthar, saving the oppressed from the local scum and things that go bump in the night. He wouldn't admit it, but helping people was beginning to help him live with the guilt that had been slowly crushing him before now. He took a look around and dropped into ankle deep water. That was when there was a shot as a bullet smashed into the brickwork just to the left of his head.

"Nice try." An Estharian voice said in the darkness. "I wouldn't love your chances in sewers crawling with Esthar Special Forces."

Seifer immediately leapt up the ladder towards daylight which with hindsight was a bad move. As he climbed, or more accurately was hauled out of the manhole he was thrown against a wall by Zann and Quistis. While they restrained him, Xu unhooked a stun gun from her belt kit while Marie eyed him through her sights. Seifer waited until Xu was a couple of yards away before whipping his feet up and putting his entire bodyweight behind a two footed kick that sent Xu clattering backwards. Marie was unable to fire for fear of hitting Zann or Quistis as Seifer wrestled them aside before whipping out the Hyperion and swinging it in an arc, forcing them to dive aside. Then Seifer was off and running. Marie fired a burst after him but like he'd done with the Dragon Squadron Seifer has cast a Protect spell on himself.

Xu forced herself to her feet, mad as hell and briefly contemplated shooting until a bullet penetrated the Protect spell, but then she got a better idea and decided it was time to employ some magic. Seifer was blasted off his feet and thrown through the air by a Thundaga spell, his limbs jerking spasmodically as the current coursed through him.

"Cover us!" Quistis ordered Zann and Marie as she and Xu advanced towards the downed target. "If he so much as blinks, engage. Shoot to kill."

Seifer was still conscious but he was in no position to stop Xu and Quistis from cuffing his hands behind him. Taking a direct hit from a Thundaga spell was bad enough but Xu was junctioned to the Guardian Force Quezacotl, thus enhancing her skills with electrical spells to simply biblical levels.

The SeeD team were so engrossed in securing their target that they didn't notice a man observing the proceedings from the nearest rooftop.

"Well that can't be good." Barranca muttered to himself.

* * *

**Author Commentary: I understand that the ending of this chapter may seem a tad abrupt and antic-climactic but bear with me. When the action really starts you'll know all about it, believe me and soon enough we'll get to see what Seifer is really capable of, and you'll also get to see him play off against Squall which is an enjoyable thing to write in my experience. As for my OC's, you won't see too much of them for a little while as I have to give a little time to the established characters. I hope to bring in the character of Rinoa soon because we haven't seen her too much and she is a fairly important part of the game am I right? As for the GIS Director Gaston Deling, I LOVED writing him and you can rest assured you haven't seen the last of him. I will milk him for all he's worth because he is, as my mother would say, a serious piece of work. As for Barranca, we'll get to see some more of his character soon and believe me it'll be worth the wait. As for the candle game that Cassie beat Squall at, that's a real game in the army that I've played myself and I get so much masochistic enjoyment out of it I play it at every available opportunity. Weddings are the best because people drink at weddings and that means inhibitions run low. To all my readers and reviewers, thank you so, so much for your support, and special thanks go out to Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope to hear from you again and if you have any questions or suggestions than please feel free to drop me a PM and I'll do my best to reply promptly.**

**~Ally **


	6. Chapter 6

**Behind Bars**

Slowly, as if climbing a long, dark staircase Seifer regained consciousness and very quickly wished he hadn't. It wasn't the first time he'd been electrocuted and knocked out but he'd never woken up in pain of this magnitude. He looked around and saw that his worst fears had come true. His belt and shoelaces had been removed and he was in a bare room, the only feature of which was a door made from bars and a second door outside that, made of reinforced steel with a small window. Ordinarily Seifer would've been able to blow both doors off their hinges with a Flare spell but the spell he was able to produce would struggle to light a match.

Seifer sighed and got to his feet. The dismal Flare spell was a tell-tale sign that an anti-magic field was in effect, but that was unsurprising. This room was clearly one of the cells in Balamb Garden's detention block. For all Seifer knew it could've been the one he'd been detained in following his disastrous field exam in Dollet before escaping, journeying to Timber and promptly going off the rails. Seifer let out a growl of pent-up anger and balled his fists. He contemplated punching the wall but he'd tried it before and realised it hurt a lot more than it did in the movies. Seifer had quite a few reasons to hate his current situation, but by far the most important one in his mind was summed up in one simple word: Barranca.

Seifer's relationship with Barranca was a little thorny, true enough but underneath it Seifer got the impression the other man understood him better than most people. Furthermore actually doing good and using his capacity for extreme violence to help someone was quite a satisfying vocation and Seifer couldn't do that because he was locked up at Balamb Garden's pleasure. Seifer didn't like to think how many people may have been raped, beaten, robbed or even killed without Seifer to fight their corner. Seifer rested his forehead against the wall and sighed. He'd been all ready to try for some form of redemption but it looked like Squall Leonhart and his cronies weren't going to give him that option. Suddenly Seifer had had enough. He boiled over to the door, grasped the bars and shook them violently.

"Guard!" He roared at the top of his lungs. "I want to see Squall Leonhart and Quistis Trepe now!"

There was no reply but Seifer knew his demands had been heard when there was the tell-tale clunk of the steel door opening, along with orders to step away from the door. Seifer complied and leant against the back wall of his cell. The door opened to reveal a SeeD armed with an assault rifle. He threw Seifer an unreadable expression before stepping aside allowing Quistis and Squall to step forward. Squall as usual wasn't giving anything away but unless Seifer was very much mistaken Quistis lips were warped by a small but still noticeable smirk of what looked like triumph.

"Hello Seifer," She said, running her eyes over him critically. "You look absolutely terrible."

"That's what she says to all the boys." Seifer remarked before walking forwards and trying to sound more business-like. "I'll come right to the point then. When are you going to let me out of here? I have things to do and as you might imagine I can't do them in here."

"You and I both know you're not going anywhere Seifer." Squall spoke. "I'm not sure how much your remember of the Second Sorceress War but the fact remains that you have a great deal to answer for."

"So you're going to detain me here indefinitely?" Seifer grinned darkly. "With all those cadets and terribly impressionable junior class men around? I think not. You wouldn't intentionally expose them to my evil influences which leads me to believe that you've got something else cooked up for yours truly. Would you care to share?"

"We're not going to keep you in here indefinitely." Squall said. "With a couple of obvious exceptions you probably know more about a Sorceress and how they work than anyone alive and should one resurface we might need any information you can furnish us with. Believe me I wish it wasn't the case."

"So you want information?" Seifer growled before baring his teeth at them in a predatory smile. "Oh I'm not sure that I'm in the mood. End of chat."

"Start of next chat," Quistis laughed. "We'd never be as crass as to ask you to disclose any information without anything in return. You'll tell us what we want to know because we're willing to pay you handsomely for it."

"That depends on how you define handsomely." Seifer grunted. "I'll want merry bushels of cash for a start. As I'm sure you know, Galbadia are still after my head on a silver platter so I'll also want protection. I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say I'm not quite flavour of the month hereabouts so I'll also want a guarantee I'm not going to be in anyway lynched. Now I think on it a year's supply of alcohol and dirty magazines wouldn't go amiss."

"Anything else?" Squall bit off.

"You could always get the chicken wuss to do a bit of grovelling." Seifer suggested loftily.

"Yeah right, that's really going to happen." Quistis snorted. "When we say we'll pay you handsomely we mean that you can come back here with a clean slate and train as a SeeD. Someone as skilled as you are should be able to earn a pretty tidy amount of cash whenever our job calls for direct action."

"You what?" Seifer exclaimed before laughing scathingly. "What makes you think for one minute I want to train as a SeeD? Don't tell me that you've forgotten that I failed three consecutive field exams all before the whole Ultimecia Affair kicked off."

"Maybe you'll learn from what are, all things considered, some pretty earth shattering mistakes." Quistis continued calmly. "Come on Seifer, you can't deny that your failure to become a SeeD was a defining factor in your excursion off the rails. Maybe studying to become a SeeD will help you come to terms with it. I know you, and I know you feel guilty about everything you did, so why not take an open invitation to get some redemption?"

"Who says I need you to get redemption?" Seifer barked, losing his cool. "I was doing fine before you lot abducted me."

"Ah yes, you're referring to the vigilante justice you were doling out amongst the scum of the Esthar underworld." Squall chuckled. "How noble."

"Squall, this may be too much for you underdeveloped brain to process but do your best." Seifer snarled. "I don't give a fuck what you think about my career choice."

"Language Seifer." Squall said, evidently enjoying himself. "You know, I think you're being unreasonable. You'll get out to use the toilet every twelve hours but let's see how willing you are to listen after a week of no food and little water." Squall and Quistis turned around but stopped when Seifer called after them.

"I didn't tell you why I became a vigilante did I?" He said, a darkly inviting tone in his voice.

"Troubled conscience?" Quistis guessed.

"Wrong!" Seifer cheered. "I was subcontracted by a certain fellow who needed my help to clean up the streets of Esthar. We were a team of sorts and now that you've abducted the muscle part of our enterprise I don't think the brains will be too happy about it."

"I'm sure we can handle it." Squall said before fixing Seifer with a hard look. "We took you on and won remember?"

"You know Squall, one day you'll meet something you can't handle." Seifer growled venomously. "And I sincerely hope I'm there to see it."

* * *

Barranca hadn't taken Seifer's abduction well and after recovering from a hangover that made his visions seem like a day at the spa he set about deciding what exactly to do about it. Basically he needed some way of getting Seifer out of Balamb Garden so he could drag Seifer back to Esthar without Squall Leonhart and company messing up the works. Barranca knew Squall's name of course, and he had no desire to find out if the man lived up to the title the words media had bestowed upon him; the Hero With No Fear. Barranca wasn't a fighter but he did possess a gift when it came to manipulation and scheming. He left his apartment and headed to the nearest train station before booking a train ticket to Galbadia.

Barranca had been born in Deling City and for some reason he couldn't fathom he always got a good vibe as he approached the city. It lit up the sky at night and was more active after dark than in the daytime, giving it the world famous nickname; the Shining Night. Barranca stepped off the train and headed immediately to the Bank of Galbadia. He owned a high security box and had already decided he might need at least some of the contents. He stepped up to the desk and handed the receptionist a key card.

"Good evening," He said pleasantly. "I'd like to open my box."

"Of course sir." The receptionist said, gesturing to a man in a guard's uniform carrying a pump action shotgun. "You'll have to leave your mobile phone with me."

Barranca surrendered the phone without any fuss and took his key card back and followed the guard who opened the door to the vault. Barranca knew the camera feed in the vault would be disabled when it was occupied so he quickly headed over to his box and slid the key into the slot. There was a click and Barranca opened the box and took the attaché case inside over to a table before opening it.

Barranca didn't know if the bank knew what was in the case but he guessed they might not have offered to hold it if they did know. First of all there were no fewer than eight different passports of varying nationalities and names. There was also a quarter of a million Gil in cash and a large revolver, a beautiful weapon finished in nickel with a polished rosewood handle. Barranca took a small box out and then opened the guns rotating chamber. He opened the box and started to load the weapon with .45 calibre bullets. Barranca then took a gun belt from the case and put it on, sliding his gun into its holster on his hip. Then he closed the case, replaced it in the box and headed out of the vault, the gun hidden by his jacket.

His next journey was to the City on Angels. The City of Angels was a high class residential area and it was home to pop stars, actors or high up politicians and it was one of the latter Barranca was here to see. He stepped up to a wrought iron gate and pressed a button to ring the bell. Within seconds a Galbadian soldier appeared and faced him through the gate.

"I think you have the wrong house sir." He said, not even bothering to conceal the disdainful sneer in his voice.

"I doubt that." Barranca replied pleasantly. "Look mate, I'm sure you're just doing your job but you'll let me in to see your boss now, if not sooner if you know what's good for you."

"Okay," The soldier snapped. "Now you definitely have the wrong house. You can forget it. You could be an assassin or a kidnapper and I've got a job to do."

"You soldiers really need to put your brains in gear before moving off." Barranca muttered under his breath. "If I was going to kill or abduct your boss do you seriously think I'd do it in his house when the grounds are infested with armed guards and unstable guard dogs, backed up by sharpshooters? I'm not an idiot. I mean no one in this compound harm, though that may well change if you don't let me in."

"Maybe but I'm disinclined to risk it." The soldier bit off. "If you want to meet with my master then I suggest you call his office and make an appointment. Otherwise, piss off."

"That was rude." Barranca remarked before his hand shot through the bars of the gate and seized the soldier by the front of his uniform. Barranca then jerked the man against the bars of the gate, knocking him cold. Then taking a short run up Barranca clambered up the gate and dropped down on the other side, landing silently. He spared the unconscious soldier a glance. He had been doing his job and there was every chance he'd be executed for failing to keep Barranca out.

Barranca knew it would be nearly impossible to evade the guards, dogs and snipers patrolling the grounds so he decided to take a calculated risk by walking confidently up the main path to the mansion. If he looked like he belonged and was supposed to be here there was a better than average chance they wouldn't stop him. He would certainly be a lot less conspicuous than if he'd been found crawling through the undergrowth. He got to the front door and was only stopped when the two soldiers on the door drew their swords and crossed them to block Barranca's path.

"Do you have an appointment with our master?" One soldier asked politely. His people skills were clear far superior to those of his comrade on the gate.

"Not in the strictest sense." Barranca replied evenly. "That said, if you run along and tell me that I'm here I daresay he'll make time to see me, especially given the information I've got for him."

"I'm afraid I cannot let you in." The soldier replied. "My master is a busy man and he will only see people with an appointment. If you'll wait I'll have some of my men escort you from the premises."

"That won't be necessary, Captain." A familiar voice said, as the front door opened. "I know Barranca personally."

"Gaston," Barranca said, inclining his head as the soldiers uncrossed their swords to allow him inside.

Gaston Deling, director of the GIS and commanding officer of the Dragon Squadron led Barranca into his opulently furnished mansion and through to his study. Barranca was a relatively cultured individual but the décor in this particular building was far too ostentatious for his tastes. It never ceased to amaze him how very bad people felt the need to live somewhere not only spectacular, but slightly insane Barranca took a seat and accepted the glass of whisky Gaston offered him.

"So," Gaston asked as he sat down and sipped his own glass. "What brings Barranca to my humble abode?"

This description nearly had Barranca howling with laughter.

"Before I come to that, I'd like something from you." He said, determinedly forcing his laughter under control. "I want assurances you won't punish the guard on the front gate. He wasn't very accommodating but he was just doing his job. That said, it was imperative that I speak with you so I'm afraid I had to knock him out."

"Very well, consider him spared." Gaston nodded, though he considered Barranca's fundamental respect for life slightly outdated. "Now what did you want to speak with me about?"

"Two words." Barranca said brightly before deploying his master stroke. "Seifer Almasy."

"You know where he is." Gaston guessed, his eyes lighting up.

"I know exactly where he is." Barranca replied. "I can give him to you." Barranca knew that the last thing on Gaston's mind where Seifer Almasy was concerned was a friendly chat but the Dragon Squadron represented Barranca's best chance of getting Seifer out of Balamb Garden alive. Once they'd accomplished that, Barranca would have to devise a method of "repossessing" him.

"Well, where is he?" Gaston demanded impatiently.

"That's the bad news." Barranca said with a slightly twisted grin. "He's currently being detained in Balamb Garden which makes it problematic for you to get a hold of him. Problematic, but not impossible."

"What do you suggest?" Gaston said fuming as he pictured Squall Leonhart and Cid Kramer's infuriatingly smug faces.

"A small Dragon Squadron team, all armed to the teeth." Barranca said. "Send them into Balamb Garden to bring Seifer back alive and kill anyone who gets in their way. Personally I don't like blood to be spilt if I can avoid it but I know Squall Leonhart by reputation and I doubt he will cave to a charm offensive."

"I can't just send the Dragon Squadron in all guns blazing." Gaston protested. "That'll be like declaring war."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be okay if it's a deniable operation." Barranca went on, a smile that made Gaston shiver spreading across his face like oil on water. "When Balamb Garden accuse you of kidnapping Seifer just say something like, it was some of your men acting on their own initiative, maybe looking to dole out some payback for the Second Sorceress War. As long as you deny all knowledge Balamb Garden won't risk the condemnation of the world by attacking you or Galbadia without provocation. Furthermore, you'll get a massive propaganda coup, showing that the unbeatable SeeD Special Forces are just human. That's got to be appealing."

* * *

Seifer had bundled up his jacket and used it as a pillow in order to get some sleep. He had no doubt Squall and Quistis would follow through on their threat to starve him into submission but Seifer was interested to see how his four years as a fugitive would impact on his ability to cope with starvation. If he did happen to die in the process…well at least he wouldn't have to look at their holier than thou faces anymore.

Seifer had always been a light sleeper and it usually didn't take a lot to wake him up so he opened his eyes and sat up as he heard his cell door being unlocked. It was probably the chicken-wuss, the cowboy or the messenger girl coming to have a good old gloat. He was wrong. Seifer's eyes widened as he took in the raven hair, pale skin and chocolate brown eyes of his visitor. Truthfully he'd though Rinoa would be the last person to come to see him, especially after he'd handed her over to a lunatic giant Sorceress without so much as a bye your leave. Then there was the fact that she took to her bed with a massive douche bag every night.

"Hello Seifer," Rinoa said calmly. "It's been a while and something tells me the years haven't been as kind to you as they have to me. You look dreadful."

"So I've been told." Seifer said as he lay back down to sleep. "Get the gloating over with Rinoa but don't take it personally if I fall asleep halfway through. I'm tired and I'd rather not hear abuse from one of the few people in this building whose company I can tolerate."

"I'm not going to gloat Seifer." Rinoa said. "You and Squall have the alpha male thing going on, so he can't see the Seifer that I knew. Squall's your rival so he simply won't realise that you're not just a washed up mercenary. You can be a somebody, Seifer."

"I appreciate the sentiment but you're kidding yourself." Seifer replied. "Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened in the Lunatic Pandora with Sorceress Adel?"

"It was four years ago Seifer." Rinoa reasoned, shrugging before opening a backpack she'd been carrying. "I'm over it. As a gesture of goodwill…" Rinoa stepped up to the bars and set a few items inside on the floor. There was a small bottle of whisky, and a six pack of cola, for use as a mixer. There were a couple of chocolate bars and a loaf of bread. Then Rinoa tossed a couple of books inside. Seifer was bewildered.

"Does Squall know you're doing this?" He asked.

"Yeah right, because nothing would make Squall happier than to know I was actively undermining him." Rinoa smiled slyly. "I personally think starving you into submission is the wrong approach. You're so stubborn you'd probably die before you let Squall win. Also I think it's slightly unethical. You should've heard Zell laugh when I said that but starving you isn't right."

"So what do you think I should do?" Seifer asked. "Do you think I should train as a SeeD?"

"It's not for me to decide or advise." Rinoa said after a few seconds of silent contemplation. "People can change a lot in four years. I think I need to get a handle on what's rattling around in your head. Why don't you start by telling me why you turned to vigilantism?"

"So that's it." Seifer chuckled darkly. "Squall sent you down here to get information out of me? Well we're not best friends anymore, so too bad for you I'm not sharing."

"Do you think Squall would let me come down here alone?" Rinoa asked. "He doesn't know I'm here and personally I'd like to keep it that way. If you're worried about the guard don't be. I came here from stockpiling some Sleep spells in the Training Centre. He was snoring before he hit the floor."

"Yeah right." Seifer conjured a pathetic Flare spell in the palm of his hand. "Anti-magic field here."

"I'm a Sorceress Seifer." Rinoa pointed out. "I could break through an anti-magic field in my sleep. Now stop dodging the question and answer me. Why did you turn to vigilantism?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Seifer if you keep trying to fob me off I'll come in there and boot your guts through your backbone." Rinoa warned. "Everything you say in here is in the strictest confidence so come clean with me and we'll keep it between ourselves."

"First of all I'll need something from you." Seifer said. "I'm guessing there's a roll of parcel tape or something similar in the guard's desk drawer. Go and get it for me and then I'll answer any question you want to ask."

Rinoa complied and tossed the tape through the bars. Seifer took it and gathered up the whisky, cola, chocolate, bread and books. Then he used a great deal of the tape to secure them firmly to the wall directly above the door so anyone looking in would be none the wiser. He tossed the tape back to Rinoa and sat lotus style in the middle of his cell.

"I did say you could ask any question you wanted." Seifer said evenly. "Fire away."

"Okay," A mischievous smile warped Rinoa's lips. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." Seifer growled. "You wanted to know why I took up vigilantism, right? Well it's a long story but I guess it can't hurt to give you an overview. I was found by the Galbadian Special Forces in Esthar and I escaped to the sewers. While I was down there I was accosted by a bloke calling himself Barranca. He started making a lot of noise about atoning for what I've done and redemption. It was a bit wearing to be honest."

"So it was this guy who shamed you into a vigilante lifestyle." Rinoa said, joining the dots.

"Yes and no." Seifer clarified. "I was initially a bit sceptical and given the way my life has gone can you blame me? He seemed genuine though and whatever my faults are I read people pretty well. What he told me, it basically boils down to the fact that he gets visions that he likens to splitting migraines that come with pictures. A name, a face, a location. Basically whoever sends these visions are giving someone a heads up of something bad about to happen so they have a chance to stop it."

"Why didn't this Barranca guy just stop them himself?" Rinoa wondered aloud. "Why come to you?"

"He says that he's not a fighter." Seifer shrugged. "I was initially a bit iffy about jumping every time some guy I'd never met had a vision, or said he had a vision but every time he called I was able to save someone and it actually felt good. It felt like I was beginning to atone. That's why, whenever Squall lets me out of here I'll haul ass back to Esthar. Don't try to change my mind, it can't be done."

"I wouldn't anyway." Rinoa remarked, a strange expression on her face. "Seifer Almasy, putting himself on the line to help some poor townsfolk. That's something I never thought I'd hear."

"I'm full of surprises me." Seifer replied as he settled back down to sleep. "If you can convince your boyfriend to let me out anytime soon so I can get back to the people I'm supposed to be helping I'd appreciate it."

"I'll see what I can do." Rinoa said before closing the steel door. "I'll bring you some more food in a few days."

* * *

Galbadian military protocol dictated that Special Forces soldiers on a deniable operation could not use their own standard issue weaponry, so the soldiers chosen for the assault on Balamb Garden had chosen knives, silenced pistols and AK-47 assault rifles, also silenced. In case things got hairy they'd also brought along several rocket propelled grenade launchers as well as stun guns, pepper spray and handcuffs for use in subduing their target.

The men rode towards the Balamb beaches in rigid hulled assault boats. Gaston Deling himself was overseeing the mission from a Galbadian Navy frigate ten miles off shore. As soon as the men made landfall they hauled their boats out of sight behind some rocks before stripping off their wetsuits revealing green jumpsuits and flak jackets underneath. They all checked their weapons and then spread out, moving towards the monolithic shape of Balamb Garden on top of its landing platform.

At all times, three guards were stationed at Balamb Garden's front entrance. They were all ex-Special Forces and armed. Two stood outside the gate while another sat in a booth within arm reach of an alarm and a button that would lock every door in the Garden immediately. The Galbadian's assault depended on stealth and speed, so as soon as they'd made it onto the landing pad two men swung into action. The two guards outside the gates were the first casualties as one man pulled out his pistol and honoured them with a quick headshot apiece. They dropped but before the guard inside the booth could react, he to received a bullet between the eyes. As the Galbadian's dragged the bodies out of sight their leader leapt into the booth and pulled a flash drive out of his pocket before slotting it into a USB drive on the underside of the guard's computer. Then he hacked into the security mainframe and set up a loop that would show nothing out of the ordinary on every CCTV screen in the building.

"Candy from a baby." The Galbadian smiled confidently before vaulting back out of the booth and readying his weapon. "Come on men, let's do what we're trained to do. Remember our rules of engagement. Everyone is expendable but the target comes back alive. All clear?" Without waiting for a reply he led them inside.

One of the most secure buildings in the world, Balamb Garden had been breached.

SeeD Zell Dincht usually battled insomnia by going to the gym or running laps around the main hall of Balamb Garden, and this night in particular he was doing the latter. He was just passing the library, sweat drizzling out of his hair when what he saw ahead of him brought him to a screeching halt. A gang of men dressed in jumpsuits and flak jackets carrying an impressive armoury were standing around the directory. Before Zell could do anything other than register their presence two of the men turned towards him, raised their silenced rifles and opened fire.

Zell immediately dive backwards into the cover provided by a ludicrously sized potted plant as the bullets sizzled through the space his head had occupied a split second beforehand. While he had some protection he tried to process the ludicrous turn this night had taken. As far as he could tell a number of armed men had got inside and were quite happy to fire their weapons at anyone or anything. As far as Zell could tell, he only had one course of action. He had to slow them down and preferably wake up the entirety of Garden in the process. Zell's preferred method of taking these guys down would be a series of thumb jabs to the base of the neck, quick as a flash and quiet as a whisper. This was not the time for that. Zell's course of action had to be loud, crude and above all distracting. So he went against his instincts, howling like a demon and utilising some very vulgar combat manoeuvres.

Charging head on at armed men may have seemed suicidal but by the time the invaders had come to terms with the madness of Zell's he was in the middle of them and they couldn't fire for fear of hitting each other. Zell capitalised on this and dropped half a dozen men in the first three seconds. He took the first with a roundhouse kick. The next two had their heads smashed together cartoon style. The fourth was, to Zell's eternal shame dispatched with a spinning kick. Wherever Zell's grandfather was he was probably incandescent with rage. He would've been spinning in his grave if he hadn't been cremated. Zell saved the most ostentatious move for the last two men. Grabbing them by their flak jackets he rolled onto his back and then hurled them bodily into the fountain. Zell leapt back to his feet but was unable to get on with the rest of the show as something cold touched the back of his head.

"Freeze SeeD," A Galbadian voice said icily, his voice dripping with hatred. "Just give me a reason."

Using the speed granted by the Guardian Force Ifrit Zell spun fast, one fist carrying the man's gun arm aside. He slapped the man across the head open handed, sending him off to the land of dreams. For the unfortunate man, is must have been like the sky falling on his head. Zell couldn't resist an action movie cliché.

"That reason enough for you?" He bared his teeth at the Galbadian's who were looking dismayed at the comprehensive disassembly of seven of their number, and by an unarmed, surprised SeeD to boot. Zell smiled even wider as a movement near the lift shaft caught his eye. "Step right up, kiddies, thrashing's for all." Then Zell dived for cover.

The reason for this quickly became apparent. Irvine Kinneas was also tormented by insomnia and he'd emerged from the lift to be confronted with the scene by the directory. A golden rule in the SeeD handbook was never to have your weapon of choice more than an arm's length away from you and the sharpshooter was no exception. He lifted his Exeter multi-purpose rifle to his shoulder, selected it's grenade launcher aspect and fired. The projectile fell right in the middle of the bunched soldiers, concussing the leader before detonating and blasted him and two of his fellows into oblivion. The explosion was sufficient to jerk nearly everyone in Garden back to consciousness.

Apart from Zann. Mark's snores had ensured he was already awake.

The blast wave of Irvine's attack had taken every Galbadian off his feet and Zell seized the opportunity to start his body count by leaping forwards and landing on one Galbadian's chest, before stomping on his throat, crushing his larynx and windpipe. Then the brawler went insane with battle fury and attacked the Galbadian's head on while Irving gave him covering fire. The sharpshooter and brawler were mainly trying to keep the Galbadian's busy until back up arrived but they were heavily outnumbered and in no position to stop four of the intruders who broke away from the main group and headed off towards the detention centre.

Irvine's explosive alarm clock had not only woken up everyone in Garden, it had set off an alarm that had woken Seifer. Still it had nothing on what happened next as the steel door to his cell disappeared in a brilliant but silent explosion. Seifer was surprised to see three men in flak jackets looking in at him. He was even more surprised when one moved forward and cut through the bars of the second door with a cordless power saw.

"Where's the guard?" Seifer asked.

"You don't need to worry about him." A fourth man appeared, wiping his hands and knife clean of blood. "Now Seifer, if you play nice and come with us now, we won't get rough."

This exchange held a wealth of information for someone as astute as Seifer. These men were here for him and they certainly weren't shy about killing anyone who got in their way. The Galbadian accent meant that they were either military intelligence or Dragon Squadron and Seifer was in no doubt that if they took him he'd die screaming, probably without the benefit of a trial. So Seifer took the only option open to him. He'd drained the whisky bottle Rinoa had given so he seized it by the neck and sent it spinning towards the speaker. It hit him between the eyes with astonishing force and he dropped, poleaxed. Two of the other men leapt into the cell and grabbed Seifer's arms, forcing him against the back wall while the third man advanced stun gun at the ready.

"Wait until we get you back to Galbadia." One of the men holding him growled sadistically. "We'll teach you respect!"

Seifer had a different sort of lesson in mind. As he struggled something hit him hard in the thigh and Seifer looked down to see the butt of the man's AK-47 within easy reach. Seifer butted the man in the face before kneeing his friend in the groin. Their hold slackened momentarily allowing Seifer to break free and seize the gun. The man with the stun gun realised what Seifer was about to do and he leapt forwards. Seifer was far too quick and he stopped the man by annihilating him with four rounds in the face. From then it was a simple matter to give the other men similar treatment. Seifer's most immediate instinct was to escape back to Esthar but first he had an unfathomable need to find out how things stood in the building. He crossed to the weapons locker and not having the key simply shot it open. His eyes fell on the handle of the Hyperion, his bootlaces and his belt so he grabbed them, tossing the gun aside. Then he returned to his cell retrieved his jacket and pulled it on.

He was done playing Mister Nice Guy, the bodies on the floor were a testament to that. He hefted his gun blade and smiled grimly. It was time for the Hyperion to taste blood.

When Seifer reached the entrance hall it was a scene of marginally controlled chaos. Bullets were flying through the air as were balls of flame, blots of lighting and blocks of ice from a number of mightily pissed off SeeD's and cadets. In the middle of it all was Squall who was lashing out with both the Lion Heart and the Revolver, killing or maiming everyone he touched. It would later come to light that Squall and Rinoa had been interrupted by the assault in the middle of some quite amorous activities.

As Seifer moved towards the bulk of the fighting he caught sight of two bodies in cadet uniforms, both riddled with bullets and lying in pools of blood. Apparently Seifer still had a deep rooted sense of loyalty to Garden because the sight drove him into a towering rage. He thundered forwards like jet propelled lighting with attitude and a gun blade, cutting down the nearest Galbadian without breaking his stride.

The Galbadian's didn't know quite what to make of their targets sudden and violent appearance and their indecision cost them dear. Zell and Squall were able to kill one apiece but Seifer was the real star turn. He tanked into the intruders, battering them aside like ninepins, and was instantly upon them, hacking away like a maniac. The Galbadian's attack, with up until now had been tenacious and persistent shifted immediately to groggy defence as the SeeD force, rejuvenated (not to mention surprised) by reinforcements in the shape of Seifer started to attack more stubbornly, hell bent on forcing the intruders out of their home.

Seifer himself was in the thick of the action, singlehandedly holding the bulk of the Galbadian forces back until Squall (of all people) and Mark Astonol stood up next to him. Armed with gun blades and an enormous sledgehammer, the Commander, SeeD cadet and former Sorceress' Knight started to force the Galbadian's backwards. All in all it was a massacre if not a rout. Mark swung his hammer into the face of the last Galbadian while Zell tackled another. The brawler was about to finish his victim off when Squall stepped in.

"Don't kill him Zell." He said calmly. "Just take him down to the detention centre and lock him up. I'd like to figure out who these guys are and what they want."

"I think I can answer that." Seifer spoke up, stepping forward. "They were after me. They killed the guard in the detention centre, blew my cell open and tried to abduct me. Obviously they failed but I'm afraid I may have made a bit of a mess. When you think about it, that's not quite my greatest sin."

Squall looked like he was about to order Seifer arrested but Rinoa surreptitiously laid a restraining hand on his arm and the Commander visibly relaxed before picking out two SeeD's and ordering them to clean up the cell block. Then he turned to everyone else.

"All of you should get back to bed." He ordered before fixing Seifer with a difficult to read look. "As for you, I think we should have a talk don't you?"

* * *

**Author Commentary: Maybe I'm a little better at writing action than I thought I was. So ends the biggest chunk of action I've written thus far, at least in Hell Still Waits. It's just going to get bigger from here believe me as the SeeD Field Exam is looming and I've got something very interesting in mind for that. You'll also get to see Gaston and Barranca interact some more when they find out how their assault on Balamb Garden went. It should be interesting because let's face it, Gaston is far from even tempered is he? My absolute favourite part of this chapter was Zell's insane berserker charge (a spinning kick Zell, how could you?). Zell is an immensely fun character to write and I for one think it's a crying shame he was only there to fill the obligatory role of comic relief character. He's a bad ass in his own right and I feel it's not addressed as much. I do feel a little sympathy for Irvine, especially after what I did to him in Doomsday so I decided to let him kill the Dragon Squadron field commander. As for Rinoa being more sympathetic to Seifer that strikes me as plausible, even after the whole Sorceress Adel incident. Rinoa was in a relationship with Seifer before the start of the game and if Rinoa can get over Ultimecia hijacking her body then she can get over anything in my mind however whiskey drenched and scattershot is becomes. As ever thanks and hugs go out to my readers and my reviewers Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope you guys will keep reviewing and I hope to hear from any others in the future. Until next time brethren…**

**~Ally **


	7. Chapter 7

**Office Politics**

Squall reluctantly led Seifer into his office and sat down behind his desk before motioning Seifer into a chair. Seifer slowly complied before grabbing another chair and turning it around to face him and propping his feet up. It was obvious from Squall's expression that this rankled, but he decided not to pass comment. Seifer simply smiled brazenly as Squall sized him up.

"First things first, I suppose we should be thankful you haven't let yourself go." Squall remarked. "Now can you give me on reason why I shouldn't lock you up again?"

"Once I killed the guys who broke me out I did consider doing a runner and hauling ass back to Esthar." Seifer explained calmly. "Then I decided I might as well find out how things stood and lend a hand if I could. Usually that would make someone cut me a sliver of slack. We do have history and you've made it pretty clear you think of me as intriguingly unstable so the question now is; what are you going to do about it puberty boy?" Seifer smiled in that infuriating way that had always succeeded in pushing Quistis over the edge. Truth told, he was mildly curious how it would affect Squall.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you Seifer." Squall replied, flatly refusing to rise to the bait. "Your actions would usually be enough to warrant immediate release from the detention block but if I did that, you'd be gone by morning and I've got enough on my plate without having your death on my conscience."

"My death?" Seifer echoed.

"You'll head back to Esthar to continue cleaning up the streets through vigilantism right?" Squall chuckled. "Galbadia are still after you, and with their resources sooner or later they will find you. When that happens, I'm willing to bet a year's pay they'll slot you on the spot just to simplify things. On the off chance they don't they'll drag you off to be tortured to death. That's why I'm not letting you go back to Esthar."

"That's not your decision!" Seifer exploded indignantly. "That's how I was dealing with the guilt and trying to get some kind of redemption, by helping the downtrodden deal with their problems. You can't stop me going back there."

"Maybe not." Squall nodded as if Seifer had made a fair point. "Maybe Quistis can't. Maybe even Zell can't. Luckily for you, I've got someone you'll definitely listen to, even if you don't like what you hear." Squall glanced at the side door into his office before raising his voice slightly. "You can come in now."

"Hello Seifer," An achingly familiar voice said. "It's been a while."

Seifer's head snapped round. He hadn't seen Edea Kramer, former Sorceress and Matron of the orphanage he'd grown up in since he'd stubbornly refused to stop defending her in the auditorium in Galbadia Garden, forcing Squall and company to resort to grievous bodily harm. Yet now Edea stood no more than two metres away from him and for once Seifer was struck dumb.

"I called Edea here as soon as you were captured." Squall informed his rival. "I didn't expect you to listen to me. I could say the sun was hot and you'd swear blind it was cold so we needed someone else who might be able to reason with you."

"I don't need to be reasoned with." Seifer hissed between clenched teeth.

"Don't you?" Edea said softly. "I heard about your earlier conversation with Squall and Quistis and according to them you were being stroppy. I'm not about to start punishing you for your actions, because you were under Ultimecia's thrall as much as I was. All I ask is that you hear Squall out. There is more than one way to get redemption."

"Is that a fact?" Seifer bit off darkly, glowering at Squall. "Well get on with it. The sooner I'm out of here the sooner I can get back to Esthar."

"You're not going back to Esthar but I can sympathise with the plight of the hapless citizenry." Squall started. "I'm going to make you a deal Seifer. You don't have to train as a SeeD if you don't want to but you will have to stay here so we can keep an eye on you and abide by Garden rules. You will also have to provide us with any information on Sorceresses you can think of so we can add it to the information we got from Edea, Rinoa and what was left of Adel. Sound good?"

"What's in it for me?" Seifer growled, hating the very idea of entrusting his immediate future to the tender mercies of Squall Leonhart.

"First of all, redemption." Edea spoke quietly. "Squall has also got the ball rolling to send a SeeD task force into the region of Esthar you were operating in to finish what you started. Imagine what they could accomplish with a great deal more than a gun blade and some Forbidden magic."

"I had an Uzi as well." Seifer said lamely before a thought hit him. "Let's say hypothetically that I took you up on this offer. I doubt members of Garden that remember the Second Sorceress War will be overjoyed to see me."

"They'll have to get over it." Squall growled. "I'm going to send out an e-mail to every mailbox in the Garden directory explaining that you've returned. You probably won't have people clamouring for your phone number but this e-mail has also made it plain that anyone who gives you a hard time will answer to me, and I will ensure they regret it."

"If you think that'll placate the chicken wuss you've got another thing coming." Seifer muttered.

"His name is Zell." Squall told him though he privately admitted Seifer did have a point there. "Now it's decision time Seifer. Are you going to take the deal or leave it."

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"You'll always have a choice Seifer." Edea said. "You can decline and Squall will lock you up until he can figure out what exactly to do with you. Hopefully, you'll want to avoid that but I suppose that'll go against your pesky sense of pride."

Seifer mulled this over. Edea was right of course as Seifer would've dearly loved to tell Squall to shove that offer where the sun didn't shine. On the other hand he had no desire to spend a prolonged period in solitary confinement and he didn't think Rinoa would be able to bring him food and drink without being found out forever. Seifer sighed resignedly. It was a no-brainer really.

"Fine, I suppose I might as well take you up on it." Seifer said eventually. "I don't think I've got it in me to train as a SeeD but if any Sorceress info comes to mind I'll let you know. Is that it?"

"Not quite Seifer." Squall grunted. "We have to talk about what happened tonight. You say that the intruders we killed came here for you. Is there anything you can tell us that might determine their identity?"

"Shouldn't you ask the survivor that?" Seifer asked.

"Oh I will." Squall said, an ominous glint in his eye that told Seifer Squall wasn't going to ask the surviving intruder nicely to cough up. "But right now I'm asking you."

"They had Galbadian accents." Seifer said after a few moments silence. "They said that once they got me back to Galbadia they'd teach me respect."

"I might have known." Squall thundered before snatching up his phone and pummelling the buttons with venom. "Yes, it's Commander Leonhart. I'd appreciate it if you could get word to Gaston Deling. Tell him that I'm seriously considering coming over to Galbadia and carving him up to use as fish bait."

"There's a lovely image." Seifer cackled.

* * *

At any one time Gaston Deling had three satellites surveying everything going on in and around Balamb Garden. These useful tools of information had effectively confirmed that the operation to abduct Seifer Almasy had been a resounding failure and he'd just received a phone call telling him that Squall Leonhart was not going to buy the deniable operation angle and had threatened to turn him into fish bait.

Gaston was in his office, sitting on the sofa and holding a glass of milk. Something bad had happened to his face. All the life had drained out of it, leaving a cold and empty mask that looked as if it had been cut out of glass. A single vein throbbed above one of his glazed eyes.

Gaston hadn't taken it well when he realised what had happened. He'd stabbed the messenger eight times with a letter opener and then thrown an all-out temper tantrum ripping the drawers from his desk and hurling them across the room. Then, with an inarticulate howl of rage he'd thrown himself onto the desktop, flailing about with his arms sending telephones, files and picture frames flying. He'd smashed a paperweight into his computer screen smashing the glass. Then he had sat down on the sofa and called for a glass of milk.

Barranca had watched this without speaking. He'd been in the room Gaston had given him with a DVD and a well-thumbed exercise book. He'd been teaching himself sign-language, one of twelve dialects he'd made it his business to learn when Gaston's tantrum had shattered the quiet night. Barranca had immediately headed down to his office and chuckling as he heard the sound effects. He knew immediately the raid had been a failure and wondered idly if he'd get the blame. Barranca waited a few minutes before speaking.

"You know you can still go with the deniable operation angle." He suggested. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Won't work." Gaston moaned despondently. "Leonhart will see through it. For all I know he's on his way here now, gun blade at the ready."

"I heard about his threat." Barranca commented. "I wouldn't pay it any attention. Squall was probably just wound up after a fight. People react to that sort of situation differently. If he follows through, I'll eat my gun."

"You don't understand!" Gaston roared, hurling his glass of milk at Barranca, who ducked. "Squall Leonhart doesn't play by the rules! He'll figure it out, it's what he does and when he does he'll come for me! I'm living on borrowed time and it's entirely _your _fault!"

There it was; the finger of blame.

For a few seconds, Barranca was seriously tempted to kill Gaston. It would be very quick, a three finger strike to the throat, crushing the carotid artery and causing a lethal build-up of blood in the brain. Barranca had rubbed shoulders with more than his fair share of evil people, not that he thought of them in terms of good and evil. All that mattered was how well connected they were and how helpful the aforementioned connections would be when Barranca put his plans into action. Gaston was extremely well-connected so Barranca decided to spare him for the time being, but made a mental note to kill him the minute he ceased to be of use. Barranca stretched out a hand, the same one he would've used to strike Gaston down.

"You worry too much." He said soothingly. "For now I suggest you go back to assassinating terrorists and listening in on the Esthar Parliament. I'll deal with Balamb Garden and get Seifer Almasy for you."

"And how are you going to do that?" Gaston snorted sceptically. "I know you Barranca and I know you're not a fighter. You wouldn't last two minutes against Leonhart and his cronies."

"And there's your problem Gaston." Barranca smiled disarmingly. "As an old soldier you think that every problem should be solved through the use of violence. You fail to see that there are other ways."

"Enlighten me." Gaston said softly.

"I'll need a few things from you." Barranca pulled out a spiral bound notepad and tossed it to Gaston. "Get them for me."

Gaston's mouth fell open as he read the notepad. He looked up at Barranca who was patiently awaiting his reaction. It was quite some time before Gaston was able to dredge up the courage to speak.

"You have to be joking." He murmured.

"I don't actually have much of a sense of humour." Barranca informed him simply. "I know it's a lot to ask but think of it this way. I am the only realistic chance you have of capturing Seifer Almasy and bringing him to justice and I will need these items. The next move is yours."

"This will take time." Gaston said sounding more than a little punch drunk. "A lot of it. I'm not even sure if it's possible."

"I've got all the time in the world." Barranca said it pleasantly enough although there was an odd gleam in his eyes now. "That said, if you don't do everything in your power to get these items as soon as possible I'll be really offended. It's not like it's difficult though. The Island Closest to Hell is not that far away."

"It'll be done." Gaston relented finally. "I'll put my best men on the job in the morning and they'll get it done."

"I certainly hope so." Barranca replied, the odd gleam in his eyes growing in intensity by the second. "If I were you I'd impress on them that this needs to be done quickly. If I am dissatisfied with the time taken I may well end up putting your men back on schedule if you catch my drift. I may not be a fighter but that doesn't mean I don't know a few things about pain and how to inflict it. Some people have even said there is nothing I cannot do with a knife and I have to say they're right. I learnt a great deal from a communications officer who served under your father."

"How did a communications officer teach you how to motivate people?" Gaston enquired interestedly.

"Apparently his duties involved getting prisoners-of-war to communicate." Barranca explained brightly. "You'd be surprised how motivational the techniques he taught me can be."

At that point Gaston was visited by a powerful impulse to kill Barranca on the spot. He would've felt the exact same if he was faced with a poisonous snake or a scorpion. There was a pistol hidden in the sofa's upholstery and he was certain he could grab it, aim and fire before Barranca could react. Still, as far as Gaston could tell Barranca was one of those people who could be very useful and if he succeeded in delivering Seifer Almasy maybe Gaston could use him to fix some older problems.

* * *

Seifer was given a single room in Balamb Garden until the powers that be found a cadet willing to share with him in spite of Seifer's reasoning that he didn't need to share with anyone as he was not a SeeD cadet. Seifer opened the door to the room before coming to an exasperated halt. Sitting on the bed facing the door was none other than Quistis. She looked up at him, her blue eyes burning with hostility.

"So I see Squall convinced you to think rationally." She commented. "Who'd have thought it?"

"What are you doing here instructor?" Seifer said as he pulled off his jacket and hung it on the back of a desk chair. "Are you suicide watch or something?"

"Among other things." Quistis shook her head. "Apparently Squall thinks you need someone who knows you to keep an eye on you and, okay, make sure you don't top yourself. Squall is too busy and important to do it, and if you were to become suicidal Zell would probably hand you the rope. So, it falls to me. Believe me I wish it wasn't the case but we all have to do things we don't want to."

"In that case would to mind dragging your perfectly formed arse off my bed." Seifer carped. "I need some kip after all the excitement. Oh and just for the record I'm not going to top myself. I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."

"Personally speaking I wouldn't actually be overjoyed if you took a razor blade you your wrists." Quistis countered as she rose from the bed and took the desk chair. "Call it residual feelings from our common childhood if you want but as far as I'm concerned suicide watch for Seifer Almasy is not the most tedious job I could be doing. I could be cleaning up T-Rexaur crap in the Training Centre."

"I'm honoured." Seifer grunted before unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his torso that was marred by numerous scars, burns and protruding ribs, a sight that made Quistis wince and avert her eyes. Seifer didn't miss this reaction. "It's what life as a fugitive and borderline starvation will do to you. The Doc will have a field day next time she examines me."

"Okay," Quistis said. "Do you want us to contact Fujin and Raijin telling them that we've found you and that you're staying here for the foreseeable future?"

"Maybe it's not the best idea." Seifer shook his head. "We didn't end on particularly good terms if you remember. They want the old Seifer back and I'm not entirely sure I'll ever be him again. We're a posse, always and forever but for now they don't need a fruit like me messing up their lives."

"That's bleak." Quistis remarked.

"Way of the world." Seifer replied as he unbuckled his belt. "I think you ought to know I sleep in the nude, so if you want to have a good stare I won't be offended."

"No thanks." Quistis said acidly. "I'd quite like to keep my food in my stomach."

"I love it when you talk dirty." Seifer snickered as he finished undressing and climbed into bed. He tossed and turned for a couple of minutes before getting out again, grabbing a pillow and settling down to sleep on the floor next to the bed.

"Seifer, what are you doing?" Quistis asked.

"I've been sleeping rough for the last four years." Seifer said. "I guess I'm used to it. That bed is too comfy for me."

"Well would you mind using the duvet or putting on some clothes." Quistis asked before braving a glance at Seifer who was sleeping on his back, legs and arms out straight and naked as a baby. "I've got orders to stay here and I don't particularly want to look at that thing all night."

"Trust you to be looking." Seifer jabbed before grabbing his discarded boxer shorts and reluctantly pulling them on. "You can have the bed seeing as I won't be using it any time soon. I promise I won't smother you in your sleep and if I feel suicidal I'll wake you up. I wouldn't want to deprive you of the pleasure of watching me top myself. Come to think of it, you might want to get a camcorder as you could make a mint selling the tape to the likes of Zell and Xu."

"I've already told you I don't want you to commit suicide." Quistis said in a tired voice as she reluctantly got into bed. "Keep up please."

"Why Quistis," Seifer cooed in what he considered an aristocratic voice. "That makes me feel all warm inside."

"Happy to help." Quistis retorted sarcastically. "Let me make myself clear, if you tell anyone that you spent the night by my bed I'll save you the trouble of suicide and kill you myself."

"So is making wild monkey love to you out of the question?" Seifer asked, his eyes closed.

"Go to sleep Seifer." Quistis growled, although she found herself marvelling at Seifer' s ability to push her buttons. After four years apart she'd imagined he may have been a bit rusty but apparently winding Quistis Trepe up was like riding a bike in the world according to Seifer Almasy.

"You know, I feel quite lucky." Seifer smirked malevolently. "Usually I'd have to go to Esthar's red light district and pay to get some beautiful girl with a whip to spend the night with me. Oh and before you even start, don't over think me calling you beautiful. I'm just telling the truth. I know you've got your insecurities but they've got nothing to do with your looks."

"Was that a compliment Seifer?" Quistis asked in spite of herself, rolling over to look at him.

"I'll let you figure it out." Seifer chuckled, looking up at her with that maddening smirk firmly in place. "Someone as smart as you shouldn't take too long. Sleep tight instructor, don't let the bed bugs bite."

Quistis sighed in annoyance as she slumped back and closed her eyes. Technically she wasn't supposed to sleep on suicide watch, but she privately admitted that if Seifer did try to kill himself she'd strap on a pair on antlers and go to Santa Claus for employment. Personally Quistis got the impression that goading her had put fresh heart into Seifer. That was an interesting new dimension to their relationship. The Seifer of four years ago would test her patience simply for the hell of it. Now, it seemed that winding her up was a form of therapy for the former Sorceress' Knight. In spite of the fact Quistis had faced down monsters the size of semi-trucks in her time she shivered.

_Seifer, you really give me the creeps._

* * *

The following morning, Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa were having breakfast together and discussing the events of the previous night, especially the mysterious and unexpected attack and Seifer's unexpected intervention. As Squall had expected Zell was the most vocal advocate or locking Seifer up until the end of time.

"Capturing Seifer and then giving him free range of Garden." The martial artist mused thoughtfully. "I hope we know what we're doing."

"It was Edea that got through to him Zell." Rinoa yawned. "So if you have a problem go and take it up with her. Personally I think Seifer proved himself to us when he jumped into that battle last night without a single though for his own personal safety."

"Big deal." Zell scoffed stubbornly. "Seifer always had a screw loose and he'd rather die than miss a big fight. He wasn't doing it for anyone but himself. All he cared about was further fighting glory and if you ask me he's playing us, trying to get us to drop our guard before doing something crazy. I'm not going to openly persecute him but if you think I'm not going to be ready for the next time he goes off the rails, you're sadly mistaken."

"You seem pretty confident he will go off the rails." Irvine said. "Childhood memories aside I don't know Seifer all that well. Is it at all possible he could be a reformed character?"

"Torama's don't change their spots." Zell said sagely. "You all seem willing to give Seifer the benefit of the doubt but don't expect me to join in. Someone has to be ready in case he goes crazy again. I'm surprised you aren't with me on this Squall."

"Seifer and I will never be friends." Squall said slowly. "That said, my job as SeeD Commander supersedes my own feelings. If a new Sorceress was to rear her head Seifer may have useful information that Rinoa or Edea do not. The way I see it, Seifer was under the thrall of an enormously powerful Sorceress so he can't be held responsible for anything he did four years ago, aside from holding Vinzer Deling hostage. I'll be keeping an eye on Seifer. The collapse of his life followed by four years as a fugitive can't have done his mental state any good and I'm going to get Doctor Kadowaki to assess him psychologically. I wouldn't be surprised if she diagnosed Seifer with any number of mental health issues. He may even be suicidal."

"I won't give up hope then." Zell said nastily.

"I talked with Seifer last night." Quistis broke in. "He actually struck me as saner than he was before the whole Ultimecia Affair took place. He was still incredibly annoying but there's no mental health problems there. I also think he's incapable of suicide, and if I'm wrong he's hiding it really well. Personally I think it's better if the Doc was to assess him physically. He's got more scars than I've seen on one body and he looks like he's suffering from malnutrition."

"It's no more than he deserves." Zell muttered mutinously.

"That's enough Zell." Rinoa snapped, kicking the brawler under the table. "Your opinion is noted."

"Well Squall's notice made it pretty clear that any open persecution against Seifer will be severely punished." Zell exclaimed defensively. "So the only way I can make myself feel better is to talk to my friends and bitch about the man behind his back."

"Do we really have to keep talking about this." Selphie interrupted. "I think we should talk about how to make this year's Garden Festival the best one ever yet! Who's with me?"

"You know I'd be first in line to help Selph, but I have a ton of inventory to go through in the armoury." Irvine said warily. "Still love me?"

"But of course, kind sir." Selphie said putting on a posh accent. "I'm sure our illustrious commander could find someone else to do all the boring weapons stuff so you can help me instead, isn't that right Squall?"

"Absolutely." Squall smiled a rare smile at Irvine who was vehemently shaking his head behind Selphie's back. "Something tells me Irvine would be extremely happy to help."

"Of course I would." Irvine said uncertainly as Selphie turned towards him. "I just have a lot to do today so I'll drop by tomorrow okay?"

"Irvy," Selphie pouted. "If you help me out today I'll let you do what you've always wanted to do!"

"The whip cream thing?" Irvine exclaimed joyfully leaping his feet.

"Actually I was thinking about shooting a watermelon with a twelve gauge, pump action but I'll happily throw the whip cream thing in if you come to help me now." Selphie told him with a mischievous smile.

"Your wish is my command Miss Tilmitt!" Irvine bellowed turning heads before sprinting out the canteen Selphie watched him go adoringly before turning back to the others. Zell's face was working furiously as he fought to control his laughter while Rinoa's whole body was quaking with supressed mirth. Quistis had "dropped" her fork and was taking extra-long to retrieve it while Squall had buried himself headfirst in a bacon roll.

"I wish you four were as enthusiastic as Irvy!" Selphie announced scowling. "I'm having a planning meeting at eight this evening in my room. Be there." She pranced off after Irvine.

"Why did we agree to help her again?" Zell wondered aloud.

"She's our friend and we're kind of obligated." Rinoa explained. "That's why Quistis and I did it. You and Squall were just drunk when she asked you."

"I knew celebrating the fourth anniversary of the end of the Second Sorceress War would come back to bite me in the ass." Zell muttered.

"Well Selphie will have to organise the Garden Festival without me." Squall grunted, swallowing hugely. "I've got a field exam to organise and a Galbadian Intelligence Service Director to dismember."

"Squall, you don't want to get into it with Gaston Deling." Rinoa advised. "He may not have faced down a megalomaniacal Sorceress but he could make life extremely difficult for you."

"I've dealt with people like him before." Squall growled. "I'm pretty certain he ordered the attack last night to get his hands on Seifer and no one makes a monkey out of me like that. Gaston Deling has tested my patience for the last time and I'm seriously considering sending Irvine over there to blow his brains out from a mile away."

"Hey, I've got no love for the guy myself, but Rinoa's right." Zell remarked. "We shouldn't make a move before we've got the whole story. He _is _the Director of the intelligence branch of the world's largest army. If we move against him without solid proof we'll alienate Galbadia even more and that's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario, it could end in a long and bloody fight."

"When did you get all insightful?" Rinoa asked the brawler. "This is very creepy."

"Rational thought," Zell replied smugly. "It's an acquired taste."

"And acquired taste it may be, I think we can agree it's creepy when it's you." Quistis commented. "Not to mention grounds for believing the apocalypse is at hand. Anyway, do you want to help me torture the surviving intruder?"

"No thanks." Zell shook his head. "I think I'll go to the dojo and tape a crude cartoon of Seifer to my favourite punch bag."

* * *

Seifer was lounging on the floor, reading an old copy of _Guns and Ammo _when the knock came on his door. Seifer sighed nosily and directed a sequence of very rude hand signals at the door. It was probably Quistis coming by for her nightly (not to mention pointless) suicide watch. If his visitor had any sense they'd leave him alone. The knock came again and Seifer swore under his breath before rolling over and getting to his feet before opening the door.

"Well, well, well," Seifer drawled as he saw his visitor. "Look who it isn't."

"Mind if I come in?" Squall said as he stood in the doorway in combat gear with the Revolver sheathed at his waist. Without waiting for an answer he pushed Seifer aside and then walked in. He turned to face his rival.

"Make yourself at home." The blond said sarcastically. "I'd appreciate it if you'd close the door on the way out after smothering me."

"Very funny Seifer," Squall grunted before his eyes flicked to the Hyperion standing in a corner of the room. "You know the SeeD handbook tells us to never be more than an arms-length from our weapon of choice."

"I'm not a SeeD." Seifer retorted.

"Maybe not but you are still a fighter." Squall pointed out idly, enjoying Seifer's palpable irritation immensely. "I've found it's a good rule to live by. It's saved my life a couple of times."

"What do you want Squall?" Seifer snapped, cutting to the chase.

"Edea suggested I should assess your combat skills." Squall explained. "My rival should be strong to keep me sharp. I know you fought against those intruders but I was a little too busy keeping myself alive to make an accurate assessment of your skills."

"So you've happened by to pick a fight?" Seifer growled. "Well sorry Squall, but I'm not entirely sure that I'm in the mood."

"When were you not in the mood for a fight?" Squall chuckled humourlessly. "I wasn't asking if you wanted to fight me. Physically speaking, you're a wreck Seifer and we both know it. You wouldn't last two minutes against me. I was actually think we could head out to the plains, and maybe hit the forests or the Fire Cavern. If you behave yourself, I might even buy you a lollipop."

"I don't like lollipops." Seifer said flatly.

"And the award for the worst comeback of modern times goes to Seifer Almasy." Squall grunted before unsheathing his gun blade and pointing it at Seifer's face. "Come on Seifer, you're not scared are you? Grab your weapon and I'll throw this in as a good will gesture of sorts." Squall withdrew a small grape sized pebble from his belt. It emitted a faint golden glow and Squall tossed it to Seifer who snatched it from the air. As he did so he felt a strange sensation as the Guardian Force entombed in the stone entered his mind.

"Alexander," Seifer muttered before grabbing the Hyperion and his jacket. "Come on then. Let's get this over."

A few years previously the only monsters you'd encounter on the Alcauld Plains were Bite Bugs. Unlike their cousins in other parts of the world Bite Bugs in Balamb were only marginally dangerous and rarely malarial. Recently however, more tenacious monsters had been making themselves known. The T-Rexaur that stalked the forests was still the most dangerous monster on the island but somehow monsters like Wendigo's and Ochu's had been sighted. That said, they were mercifully rare and Seifer and Squall had only gone a hundred yards when they were accosted by a quartet of Bite Bugs.

Squall reacted first and whipped out his sidearm and firing two rapid fire shots, blasting the nearest Bug to smithereens. Then he hung back to watch as the remaining three converged on Seifer. He nodded approvingly as Seifer stopped one by slicing it cleanly in two with an uppercut. Seifer dropped to the floor to avoid a sting and seized the bug by its jaws, holding them closed. He fended off the other bug while he continue crushing it's fellow. He eventually dropped the bug and taking no chances stomped it flat. Incensed the other Bite decided to cast a Fire spell on Seifer. Seifer however was far too quick and he hurled the Hyperion through the air, hitting the unfortunate monster dead centre and killing it instantly. Seifer retrieved his weapon and wiped it clean on a tussock of grass before turning to Squall as he sheathed it.

"Satisfied?"

"So you killed three Bite Bugs, big whoop." Squall retorted. "I've seen junior class men do that. Let's continue. Maybe we'll find something slightly more tenacious."

Maybe twenty minutes later, Squall got his wish. They were just passing a forest when a large Wendigo thundered out of the trees and smashed headlong into Squall, trampling him underfoot. In spite of the fact he felt like he'd just been hit by a bus Squall retained enough coherent thoughts to twist around on the ground and open fire with his handgun. The Wendigo bellowed in displeasure as it took three bullets in the back and seized a boulder the size on an average TV set. It advanced towards Squall while Seifer watched gleefully.

"Big guy!" He called to the Wendigo. "Kick his ass!"

The Wendigo was immediately distracted by Seifer's shout and it immediately lost interest in Squall. The monster cocked it's arm back and hurled the boulder at Seifer who rolled out of the way and unsheathed the Hyperion while he went.

"Oh very nice!" Seifer yelled as he advanced fearlessly. "I was on your side."

The Wendigo snorted and thundered towards Seifer with speed the belied it's quite considerable bulk. Seifer was able to open a few shallow cuts but the beat ignored them and punched him in the chest. Had the Guardian Force Alexander not been bolstering Seifer's ability to take hits the punch probably would've caved his chest in. That said, it was sufficient enough to throw him several feet away and crack at least three ribs. While the Wendigo dismissed Seifer as a threat and turned back to a still stunned Squall, Seifer cast a Cure spell on himself, mending his ribs. He clambered back to his feet and saw the Wendigo kick Squall in the chest, throwing him several feet away. Squall's gun flew out of his hand and Seifer dashed over to it and fired a shot in the air to get the Wendigo's attention.

"Naughty, naughty!" He said shaking his head. "No one beats up Squall Leonhart apart from me."

Seifer fired the remaining bullets into the Wendigo before tossing the gun aside and charging head on. The Wendigo was still stunned by the bullets and Seifer capitalised on this, stabbing the Wendigo in the kidneys and pulling the trigger. The Wendigo was sent staggering back with an unearthly shriek and Seifer pressed his advantage, inflicting a number of superficial cuts. Superficial they may have been there was enough for Seifer to pressure the beat into bleeding to death, not to mention the gaping hole in its lower torso. Seifer easily dodged it's retaliatory swipes for the next couple of minutes before deciding he was bored. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a grenade. The Wendigo tried to grab him with both hands but Seifer spun the Hyperion around, up and across, severing both arms at the elbow. Then he popped the pin on the grenade and shoved it into the Wendigo's stomach wound.

"So Squall," He said, offering a hand to the Commander and pulling him to his feet. "You still unsure of whether I've got it?"

"I suppose you can hold your own." Coming from Squall that was like a twenty-one gun salute. "A tad unorthodox, but I suppose it's provided the desired effect."

"Come on Squall, just admit you're fascinated by my fighting style." Seifer drawled, preening outrageously. "If it was anyone else you'd admit that you're impressed. Oh and did you happen to notice that I just saved your life."

"What do you want, a medal?" Squall grunted as he retrieved his gun.

"Nothing that extravagant." Seifer grinned. "Your heartfelt gratitude's plenty enough for me. I expect I'll be getting that any minute."

"Gratitude?" Squall spluttered indignantly. "For getting in my way?"

"Getting in your way?" Seifer echoed heatedly. "I saved your worthless hide in case you didn't notice."

"I was regrouping." Squall snapped.

"You were about to be regrouped," Seifer corrected smugly. "Into separate piles. You needed help."

"I didn't need you." Squall gritted out stubbornly. "I never need you Seifer."

"Oh I get it," Seifer observed, his green eyes sparkling knowingly. "You just don't like who did the rescuing, wishing I was your girlfriend or one of your other little friends. You dragged me out here in the first place, but don't worry Squall. Next time you're getting seven colours of shit knocked out of you by a Wendigo, I'll let you handle it. After all, there's no task too big for Squall Leonhart, Commander of Balamb Garden. Now if you'll excuse me…" With a jaunty wave Seifer spun around and headed back to Balamb Garden.

* * *

**Author Commentary: Another one down and what a one. In case you're wondering character driven chapters are my favourite thing to write and I also enjoy writing Seifer, especially when he interacts with Squall and Quistis so I had an absolute whale of a time writing this chapter. That doesn't mean it was easy as it went through a couple of incarnations. I had a half formed storyline where the SeeD field exam would consist of an "impossible" heist but it just became bloated and overly complicated so I scrapped it. The field exam is approaching I can assure you but it's not in the immediate future as I'm focusing on the Seifer storyline for now as it is the main plotline of this work. You'll get to see him interact with a few other characters including Zell (take cover people) while Squall continues to dream up unpleasant ways to make Gaston Deling's life a living hell. He may also make it considerably shorter to simplify things. I particularly enjoyed Gaston's temper tantrum and as for Barranca's mysterious plans, they will take time to put into action but you'll know all about it when it happens. As ever I cannot thank my readers and reviewer enough, here's to you Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope you guys will keep reviewing and I hope to hear from any others in the future. Until next time…**

**~Ally **


	8. Chapter 8

**Assassins Abound**

Squall had staggered painfully back into the Garden and immediately headed to the infirmary to determine how badly the Wendigo had hurt him. You'd never get him to admit it but Squall privately thought he was maybe a little out of shape. A Wendigo should never have taken him that easily, but then again, maybe he was just unlucky. He resolved to spend a lot more time in the Training Centre. It was his pride that was smashed beyond repair seeing as he'd had his life saved by his least favourite person on the planet.

Actually, now Squall thought about it, Gaston Deling might give Seifer a run for the title.

Luckily, Doctor Kadowaki was able to determine that Squall's ribs were only bruised instead of cracked. He was suffering internal bleeding but according to the doctor it was largely superficial and would clean up in a few days. Kadowaki prescribed some pills for the pain and told Squall to return back in a week for a check-up. Squall pocketed the pills and headed up to his office. He was only mildly surprised to see Xu, Quistis and Cid waiting for him and judging by the look on their faces they weren't about to deliver very good news. Squall invited them into his office with a jerk of the head and sat down behind his desk.

"I'm not going to like this am I?" He grunted.

"Probably not." Cid replied resignedly. "We've just had a communication from Gaston Deling. Somehow, don't ask me how he got wind of the intruders attacking us the other night and he's been telling us that he'll do everything in his power to figure out who attacked us and why. We told him you wouldn't appreciate him adding his loose change but he wouldn't listen. He's even offered to send some of his agents over here to help with the investigation."

"Bugger that!" Squall exclaimed belligerently. "I'll tell you how that odious little prick knew about the assault. He ordered it in the first place."

"It is pretty obvious I suppose." Cid went on reasonably. "But we have to look at the evidence. We have to prove it."

"This isn't a courtroom Cid." Squall bit off angrily. "Things work with a little more immediacy in the real world. I'm prepared to bet I could get a confession in ten minutes. Quistis, does the survivor from the raid have anything to say?"

"Not a peep." Quistis said. "The lack of food and water approach wasn't working so we went with white noise. That didn't work so next time I go down there I'll hit him with the hard brace."

"Water boarding?" Cid guessed.

"Water boarding." Quistis nodded. "I'd sooner not do it but need must. Oh, there is one more thing that I found out. He's got the Dragon Squadron insignia tattooed on his shoulder."

"There you go!" Squall said with a flamboyant gesture at Quistis. "That's the proof we need!"

"We can't assume anything yet." Cid interrupted. "Maybe he's just some sad wannabe who got the tattoo so he could show it off in the pub or something. It's not quite iron clad."

"I've got to agree with Squall actually." Xu said. "The guys who attacked killed guards, cadets and SeeD members. They were very well armed and clearly knew what they were doing and they came for Seifer. Only Special Forces could capture and detain him with any degree of success. I think Gaston Deling is just trying to wind us up. That said, I don't think him succeeding is a particularly bad thing right now."

"He's messed with us for the last time." Squall hissed between gritted teeth. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. No one makes a monkey out of me. I think it's high time someone headed over to Galbadia and terminated Gaston Deling's command of the GIS and Dragon Squadron."

"We can't do that." Cid exclaimed aghast. "If we assassinate someone as well connected as Gaston Deling it could blow up into a full scale international incident. We can't just send a SeeD team in without solid proof. It'd be like we've declared war and Garden cannot afford to make an enemy of Galbadia yet again."

"I'm sure we'll be able to prove Gaston ordered the raid after he's dead," Squall said obstinately. "And if we can't, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides the only way they'll be able to prove it was us is if they capture the SeeD's we send over there to do the deed."

"So we're going to send a team over there to break into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the world, kill the owner of said building and then break out again without being caught?" Cid demanded waspishly.

"Of course not." Squall said before touching a button on his desk. "Could SeeD Kinneas report to the Commanders office please? Repeat, SeeD Kinneas to the Commanders office."

"Let me just say I don't condone this in the slightest." Cid grunted. "Gaston is just trying to bait us and we shouldn't play right into his hands."

"I have faith in Irvine being able to decorate the office walls with his brains." Squall said right before there was a knock at the door and Irvine swaggered in, Exeter at the ready and Stetson set at its usual jaunty angle. "Thanks for coming Irvine," Squall said as the sharpshooter took a seat. "How do you feel about a stroll over to Deling City?"

"Always nice to visit the mother country." Irvine drawled. "What's the job? Close protection? Intelligence gathering?"

"Nothing that exciting." Squall smiled darkly, "Just the little matter of a certain Galbadian politician who's crossed us for the last time. I need you to head over there and remove him from our lives, which I suppose will involve removing him from his own life."

"Let me guess," Irvine said evenly. "Gaston Deling, right?"

"What do you know, not just a pretty face." Squall quipped before turning serious mindful of Irvine cracking under the pressure during the attempted assassination of Sorceress Ultimecia (in Edea's body) four years ago. "That's not going to be a problem is it?"

"Of course not." Irvine growled his jaw set. "It was pretty obvious he was behind the raid to grab Seifer. Some of us were actually betting on how you'd respond. I lost twenty Gil to Rinoa because I thought you'd kick the door in yourself and carve him up personally but I suppose it doesn't really matter how the bastard dies."

"Good," Squall nodded. "I'll leave it to you then I hope to hear about Gaston Deling's tragic and untimely demise soon. You can take whoever you want as your support, except Zell. We're keeping him back for a job in Esthar."

"Actually, on the subject of Irvine's support," Quistis spoke up hesitantly. "I have a really bad idea."

"Well share it with us then…" Squall said before the penny dropped with a deafening clang. "…please tell me you're joking."

"Why not?" Quistis protested. "It's a little unorthodox but if you want to optimise the chances of this job going off flawlessly an operative with a reputation for combat prowess and a knack for specialising in the ridiculous might be the best idea."

"You cannot be serious." Xu exclaimed as she joined the dots. "It's completely mad and the phrase "gas to the flames" springs to mind."

"Guys!" Cid barked as Quistis opened her mouth to reply. "Headmaster, in the dark, right here. What are you talking about?"

"Quistis wants to send Irvine over there with Seifer as his support." Squall said.

There was a long silence as everyone tried to digest the implications of this ominous pronouncement. Irvine opened his mouth a couple of times, before reconsidering and remaining silent. It was eventually Cid who broke the silence.

"I don't think it's too bad an idea actually." He said.

"What?" Squall and Xu exclaimed in perfect, unrehearsed unison.

"Think about it." Cid said firmly. "This is Quistis we're talking about and correct me if I'm wrong Squall, but you've always set some store by what Quistis says and does. There's a reason she still holds the record for the youngest ever SeeD in Garden history. Give her a minute."

"I don't mean to disrespect you Quistis but do you seriously think Seifer will be able to keep his marbles on a job like this." Squall grunted. "Seifer is a very hands-on individual who prefers direct action to the exclusion of all else. He'll be bored stupid on a sniper stakeout and if you remember the last time he was bored it turned out rather badly."

"Maybe Seifer will be able to learn from his mistakes." Quistis said, flatly refusing to budge. "I for one would certainly appreciate having a guy like Seifer watching my back and I'm confident in Irvine's ability to control him. If it was Zell, then I'd be worried but it's not."

"I think we should vote on it." Cid said as Squall mulled Quistis' words over. "All in favour of Seifer joining this mission?" Cid and Quistis raised their hands. "All against?" Squall and Xu raised their hands.

"Two either way." Xu said, stating the obvious before turning to Irvine. "You're the tie breaker Irvine. Do you seriously think you can work with Seifer and rein him in if he threatens the success rate of the mission?"

"Unorthodox doesn't cover it." Irvine said contemplatively. "The way I see it, Seifer will either make this mission as successful as possible or he'll blow the whole thing apart. If we play the percentages, and consider that he's definitely in the top three people I'd want to watch my back I'd happily take him along, although I'll reserve the right to blow his head off if he endangers me or any civilians. In conclusion I'm in favour of Seifer coming along."

"We'll have to see if Seifer's happy with it." Squall said. "He said he didn't want to train as a SeeD and this is textbook SeeD stuff. I get the feeling he'll tell me to shove the idea up my arse."

"Tell him that the target is the man who's made it his life's work to torture and execute him without a trial." Quistis suggested. "That should placate him. Anyway, since when did you care if Seifer was happy or not?"

"Since I became Commander." Squall bit off rancorously. "My job overrides my personal feelings. That said, you should've heard Rinoa's take on that when I told her I couldn't use my position to fiddle her test scores. I wonder where she picked up such a colourful turn of phrase."

"She is friends with Zell." Quistis pointed out.

* * *

Seifer had been so elated at a chance to kill his aspiring judge, jury and executioner that Squall hadn't had time to impress on his rival what was expected of him. This unenviable job fell to Irvine during the train ride from Balamb to Deling City the next morning. This _was_ Irvine though, so he did it with all the tact of a wrecking ball. He sat down next to Seifer and started rummaging in his rucksack before withdrawing an automatic pistol. He loaded a magazine, checked the action and then handed it to Seifer.

"Here, take this." He said.

"No thanks." Seifer said before indicating the Hyperion. "This is all I need. Besides, I may have SeeD training but I'm not a brilliant shot."

"You don't have to be a marksman." Irvine grunted. "Just take the gun, slip the safety catch off, press it to your temple and squeezed the trigger."

"Very funny." Seifer growled, shooting the other man a withering glare.

"It's a great deal better than being caught." Irvine went on. "For you in particular, it's not very nice where we're going. Oh and just so we're clear, you place the mission or myself in jeopardy or threaten any innocent lives, I'll save you the trouble and kill you myself."

"I'd like to see you try." Seifer bristled.

"Would you?" Irvine returned, looking Seifer dead in the eye. "I said I wasn't bothered about taking you along on this job but let's get one thing straight from the off. I'm a SeeD and you're a civilian. That means what I say goes and if you disagree with that then I'll knock you out and tie you up until I return, don't think for one minute I can't."

"Whatever," Seifer said before deciding it might be tactful to change the subject. "I've heard a lot about you while I was on the run. People seem to think you're one of the best snipers on the planet. Are you as hot as they say?"

"Hotter." Irvine said bluntly.

"So what do you use for this kind of job?" Seifer pressed.

"Heckler and Koch PSG-1." Irvine replied evenly as he pulled out a telescopic sight and peered through it experimentally. "7.62 millimetre sniper rifle."

"I know what a PSG-1 is." Seifer remarked. "That's a different approach to Balamb Garden. Snipers there usually go with the L96 Arctic Warfare long barrel. Anything that gets you closer to the target has to be a plus right?"

"I trained at Galbadia Garden and they don't use the L96. It's got better range granted but I trained with the PSG-1." Irvine explained. "I feel comfortable with it and as far as I'm concerned that means that in my hands it's the best rifle in the world. It's the business."

"Let me guess," Seifer said, noting how animated Irvine was becoming when the subject turned to firearms. "You like to think you're the business as well."

"Not quite." Irvine smiled wryly. "I'm the best and you wouldn't believe how many targets have found that out the hard way. I'm going to add Gaston Deling's name to that list."

"You seem very sure." Seifer observed. "Are you telling me you've never missed a target?"

"I've had one target in the sights that I didn't kill." Irvine replied. "That was Edea. If she hadn't thrown that shield up at the last minute I would've killed her for sure. As far as we know Gaston doesn't have that going for him. The windows to his mansion are armoured but I'm using high velocity, armour piercing rounds. They'll go straight through up to eight inches of any bullet proof material you care to name and blow the target in half."

"You'd better be right." Seifer grunted. "Because if you mess this up you're unlikely to get another shot."

"Oh I'll get him." Irvine assured him, an ugly look on his face. "He attacked Balamb Garden and we lost several cadets and a couple of SeeD members. I don't think anyone in Garden will rest easy until those deaths have been avenged. That's what I'm going to do."

"So, if I'm acting as your support, what's my job?" Seifer asked.

"First of all, we'll have to find a secure location to lie-up for the hit." Irvine said immediately. "I'll need you to make sure it stays secure and watch my back. I'll be too preoccupied preparing for the shot, so I'll need a spotter with me. That's your next job. I think the best opportunity for the shot is to slot him in his office, so let me know when he's in there and if he looks like he's going to be there for any length of time."

"Anything else?" Seifer asked.

"Just this." Irvine said, pulling what looked like an aerosol can out of his bag. "We'll be staying in the Galbadia Hotel until we lie-up and your mug is pretty well known so we need to change your appearance. We can cover your scar up with a little grease paint but I think it might also help if we were to change your hair colour. Take your jacket and shirt off."

"Bloody hell." Seifer muttered under his breath as he complied.

"Stop complaining." Irvine admonished him as he wrapped a hand towel around Seifer's neck and shoulders. "If it makes you feel any better I'll be getting some grey highlights and losing my ponytail to keep up the pretence of us being father and son."

"Good luck with that." Seifer grunted. "You've got a Galbadian accent while I'm clearly from Dollet. How are you going to explain that away?"

"You won't need to talk but if you do you'll manage to put on an accent." Irvine said as he started to spray Seifer's hair with the temporary dye. "You'll need to wear a shower cap or better still not have a shower at all while we're there. You'll smell a bit ripe but I can safely say you'll smell a lot worse if you're recognised, arrested and tortured to death."

"Well how about this? You watch my back and I'll watch yours." Seifer frowned as Irvine chuckled. "Did I say something funny?"

"Sorry," Irvine said, sounding far from it. "For some reason Seifer Almasy trumpeting teamwork and cooperation strikes me as rather funny."

"This is going to be a seriously long mission." Seifer snarled between tightly clenched teeth. "This is exactly why I didn't want to train as a SeeD. Trust Squall to send us out for this job. If we're caught he gets to deny the whole thing whereas we end up dead or in the Desert Prison for life if we're really unlucky. Come to think of it, Squall would make an excellent armchair general one day, sending out orders while the soldiers on the battlefield put themselves on the line for him."

"Not Squall." Irvine contradicted him. "Squall's way too active for that sort of thing. You should've heard his reaction when Cid made him Commander and Nida tried to get him to give a speech. Squall's our leader but I doubt he'd have taken the post of he'd had any option. Squall loves being a soldier more than anything, with the possible exception of Rinoa. We all have to retire from this life sometime but Squall…there's no way he's going to resign from SeeD. He won't leave, he'll have to be pushed."

"What's the point you're trying to make?" Seifer demanded.

"The point is that Squall is a lot more complex than you think." Irvine clarified. "I know you and he have history but you weren't around for the massive change Rinoa wrought in him while everyone else was. It was nothing short of miraculous."

"So you say." Seifer muttered as he eyed his new auburn hair critically in a mirror. "He seems like the same old Squall, especially after I saved his pathetic hide from a Wendigo last night."

* * *

Squall had just heard from Irvine. The sharpshooter with Seifer in tow had arrived safely in Deling City and they were busy choosing a perfect lying-up point to take the shot at Gaston. According to Irvine Seifer was behaving himself but Squall was still a little sceptical of Seifer's usefulness. Through many years of exhaustive study, Squall had deduced that when Seifer was about to do something crazy he'd get the old "tick-tick time bomb look". The worst part about Seifer's outbursts of anger and violence was the fact that he didn't always blow straight away. More often than not, he'd let whatever was pissing him off fester and eat away at him until he couldn't take it anymore. Squall was already beginning to wish he'd gone along on the mission so he could keep a close eye on his rival. Childhood in the orphanage aside, Irvine didn't know Seifer as well as Squall or Quistis and didn't know how to predict his rather erratic mood swings.

When Squall opened the door to his office he found that Martine Cayes was waiting for him, having installed himself in Squall's seat with two Garden Faculty standing at his shoulders. Martine had originally been both Headmaster and Garden Master of Galbadia Garden until he'd been removed from office when Edea, Seifer and the entire Galbadian military happened by. Since then he'd been various jobs in Garden before some bright spark decided to put his name down for Chairman of the Garden Authorities. This meant Martine controlled the bureaucratic and financial side of things, and he was the only person the Garden Faculty treated with respect.

"Good afternoon Commander." Martine said smoothly. "I wonder if I could have a word with you."

"Would it make any difference if I was to say no?" Squall grunted rhetorically. "Make it quick as I have some things to do. Oh and if you're about to start pushing for the removal of Seifer Almasy take it up with the Headmaster, not me."

"Believe me there will be a conversation regarding Almasy," Martine replied. "But not today I'm afraid. What I want to talk about is the combat survival training. You may remember that two Garden Faculty members told you that they were planning to suspend it on grounds that it constitutes child abuse."

"Oh this again." Squall muttered under his breath before sitting down. "I remember alright and my answer hasn't changed. They knew what they were getting into and they had the option to drop out if they got in over their heads. I'm not suspending the combat survival exercise and that is that. Now if it's not too much trouble I've got a mountain of paperwork to get on with. You can show yourselves out."

"Not so fast Commander." Martine smiled. "I'm afraid once people start getting killed your judgement is brought into question."

"That was a one off!" Squall growled between clenched teeth. "How was I supposed to account for a nutcase running around merrily killing off our cadets?"

"Irrelevant." Martine waved a hand airily. "Two cadets were killed in a training exercise you supported and implemented. Usually I wouldn't be able to overrule you but these are major extenuating circumstances. The combat survival training is hereby suspended indefinitely. Effective immediately."

"You can't do that!" Squall barked. "You don't have the right."

"I not only have the right, grounds and precedence but I also have the near physical sensation of pleasure at making sure our cadets are safe as houses." Martine smiled widely. "I describe myself as tingly."

"Are you actively trying to antagonise me?" Squall steamed. "I think we should take this to the Headmaster."

"If I can overrule you I can overrule him." Martine said. "I know you're used to getting your own way around her but the combat survival training was a bridge too far. Once cadets started turning up dead someone needed to step in."

"I always knew you were an opportunistic little weasel." Squall snarled. "But even for you, exploiting the murder of two cadets in order to score points off me is beyond the pale."

"Our shotgun wielding friend was simply a catalyst." Martine replied. "The end result is the same."

"I never said he had a shotgun." Squall said softly.

"Pardon?" Martine's self-satisfied smile slipped.

"I never said he had a shotgun." Squall hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Tom was killed by head trauma and Trent's neck was snapped. The killers weaponry never came up in the reports so how would you know he was armed with a shotgun?"

"Oops." Martine said, smiling once more.

Before anyone could intervene, Squall lunged forwards, seized Martine by the lapels and dragged him bodily over the desk before bundling him to the floor. Both Garden Faculty raised their weapons but Squall was far too quick. Usually internal matters in Garden were sorted out through reasoned discussion but judging by the fanatical light in the Garden Faculty's eyes that wouldn't get it done this time. Squall immediately bundled one of them to the floor and knocked him cold with a hard kick to the temple. Then he seized the other mans wrist and jerked his arm straight out. The man struggled but Squall was too strong and he smashed his fist into the Garden Faculty's elbow and pulled in the opposite direction, snapping tendons and splintering the bone with a wince inducing crunch. Squall tossed his screaming victim aside and seized Martine by the scruff of his neck. Martine was bundled into the wall and pinned their by Squall's arm across his throat.

"Why?" He snarled, jaw tight with suppressed rage. "You hire a gun toting psychopath and directly engineer the death of two cadets. I want to know why!"

It was at that moment the door opened and Quistis walked in before freezing as she saw the battered Garden Faculty and their boss being throttled against the wall. Someone else might've intervened immediately but Quistis had never liked Martine and she also knew that Squall would need a seriously good reason to have acted this violently.

"Squall what's going on?" Quistis asked.

"Quistis find Xu and immediately detain every Garden Faculty member, with the use of lethal force if the situation calls for it." Squall growled, not taking his eyes of Martine (who was turning purple). "I don't have time to explain, just do it!"

"Right away." Quistis said before spinning around and sprinting out of the office.

"Okay then," Squall spun Martine around and slammed him down on the desk before grabbing a letter opener and prodding Martine's larynx with it. "I find it hard to believe you hired a professional killer to get one over me, so be a good little boy and tell me why you did it."

"I'm not telling you a thing." Martine snapped.

"I was so hoping you'd say that." Squall said before forcing Martine's left hand palm downward on the desktop. Then he pinned it there with the letter opener. Martine screamed bloody murder and Squall waited patiently for him to stop. "Feel like talking yet?"

"Go to hell." Martine spat at Squall.

Squall's response was to seize a paperweight and smash Martine in the face with it, pulping his nose. Then he drew the Revolver and laid it gently across Martine's neck, thumbing the hammer menacingly.

"Okay, when I take my gun blade away you had better answer me." Squall said. "If you don't, I will personally put you through so much agony you'll scream for death. And if you think it'll be quick I recommend you think again. With transfusions I could keep you alive indefinitely. Doctor Kadowaki has some expertise in that area and if you think she hasn't got the stones to be a party to your eternity of torture consider this. She did the post mortem on Tom and Trent and she saw what your pet assassin did to them. Now, why did you hire him?"

"Because I was paid." Martine groaned.

"And that leads us to the final question, and believe me when I tell you that the wrong answer will cost you all your points." Squall smiled demonically. "Who paid you?"

"Gaston Deling."

* * *

Seifer and Irvine checked in to a room in the Galbadia Hotel. Irvine did most of the talking while Seifer stood in the background trying to look unobtrusive and painfully aware that the suitcase he was carrying contained a gun blade, explosives and more firearms than you could shake a stick at.

"Help yourself to the mini-bar." Irvine said as he took out a bottle of vodka and unscrewed the top. "You might want to check your kit as well. We've got a busy few hours coming up." He unzipped the suitcase and pulled out to components for his PSG-1 and started checking and cleaning them, performing maintenance when needed.

Seifer headed over to the mini bar and checked the price list for the most expensive item, which turned out to be a small bottle of fifteen year old malt whisky. Then he deployed the magazine in the Hyperion and started loading concussive shells. The Hyperion's grip and firing mechanism was modelled after the Beretta M9 so Seifer could load fifteen rounds.

"Aye aye," Irvine said staring out the window he'd just opened and seeing a young woman in the opposite building. She was reaching back to put her long hair into a clip and her raised arms accentuated her breasts. "Oh for a face full of those beautiful watermelons."

The thought of watermelons sent Seifer charging towards the window but he was slightly disappointed. "Nice," He said. "But they're mangos at best. You're doing better with Selphie."

Irvine didn't answer because the woman had spotted them ogling her and was flicking them off, mouthing something that ended with the word; perverts.

"Aww come on baby!" Irvine bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Give us a flash!"

Seifer collapsed on the nearest bed laughing as the girl opened her window and yelled at Irvine. "I'll get my boyfriend over there and he'll kick both your asses!"

"I'll pay five Gil per nipple!" Irvine shouted as the girl gave him the finger, furiously slammed her window shut and pulled down her roller blind.

Seifer thought this was hilarious and was still lying on the bed convulsing for the next couple of minutes. You'd be hard put to get him to admit it but Seifer was beginning to warm to the charismatic sharpshooter and his "ultra-smooth" approach with regard to the fairer sex.

"Okay, funs over." Irvine told Seifer as he stripped his rifle down and stowed in the bag of weaponry before directing Seifer to do the same with the Hyperion. "We've got a job to do and I don't know about you but I believe very job I'm given should be done to the very best of my ability."

"Fair enough." Seifer nodded. "So what now?"

Irvine led Seifer up a fire escape to the top of the hotel to get the lie of the land. Gaston Deling's mansion wasn't too far away and the ostentatious (if not insane architecture) made it pretty hard to miss. That said it was too far for a successful shot and the angle wasn't going to do Irvine any favours either. Seifer pulled out a pair of high powered binoculars and started scanning the area surrounding the mansion for possible sniper posts. Personally he would've preferred to kick the door in armed with the Hyperion or flatten the mansion with a non-nuclear ballistic missile, but both those methods might attract too much attention.

"So what if we're caught and interrogated?" Seifer said.

"Well I'm a SeeD so all they'll get out of me is name, rank and number." Irvine replied evenly. "What about you?"

"I guess they'll figure out who I am sooner or later." Seifer answered. "When that happens I'll treat them the same way I treat everyone I don't like the look of and tell them to fuck off."

"Figures." Irvine muttered before his tone became abruptly more business like. "Any promising sniper posts?"

"A few." Seifer nodded before handing the binoculars to Seifer. "If I was doing it I'd choose the roof of that big warehouse. It's well within range but it's far away enough to give us a decent head start once the guards figure out where the shot came from. I t's also got a clear line of sight."

"Good choice." Irvine nodded appreciatively. "I wouldn't worry though. If it all goes according to plan the guards will only realise they're out of a job once we're on our way back to Garden. I'm using a suppressor."

"Won't that blunt the range a bit?" Seifer enquired.

"A little but not enough to save that bastard's miserable life." Irvine said before heading back down the fire escape. "Come on, let's check out that warehouse."

It transpired that Seifer had chosen the warehouse in question well. It had no alarm system and only one lock that was taken care of with a couple of shots from Irvine's sidearm. There was no ladder but several rows of steel shelves that they could use to get up towards the ceiling, in which was set a hatch that would lead them outside. It was a little out of Seifer's reach but Irvine gave him a boost and the former Sorceress' Knight punched the hatch open and clambered through. Irvine handed him the weaponry bag and then Seifer pulled him up. Irvine did a three sixty and smiled widely. The target building was no more than five hundred metres away and Irvine could see into most of the windows, one of which, according to the blueprints he'd procured was Gaston's study. While Seifer trained his binoculars on the building Irvine assembled his rifle with the same level of care a mother reserved for a new born baby. He screwed the suppressor onto the barrel, propped the rifle up on a bipod and peered through the scope twiddling the knob until the view was as sharp as it was going to get. Then Irvine lay down and cradled the weapon in his arms and spared the head and shoulders photograph he'd been provided with of Gaston Deling a look.

"The wind's a bit choppy." Seifer commented as he lay down next to Irvine. "You can compensate for it or you can wait it out. Your call. Keep in mind variable humidity and wind speed along the bullets flight path. It's good we're so close, otherwise we've have to account for the Coriolis Effect as well."

They waited for nearly three hours until darkness fell. Seifer pressed a button on his binoculars and with a faint whine, night vision kicked in. Irvine however remained totally still, his sights trained on the window of Gaston's study. Seifer found himself marvelling at Irvine's self-control. He was totally frozen in place but was breathing easily and Seifer doubted his heartbeat was racing.

It was coming up on midnight when Seifer finally spotted their quarry entering the study.

"Okay, I think I see him." He breathed. Irvine's reply was to slip the safety catch off and stroke the trigger gently. "Wait for my mark…okay target acquired. I have a positive ID on Gaston Deling. When you're ready Irvine."

Irvine centred his crosshairs on the targets chest before moving the up to target Gaston's head. He regulated his breathing and breathed out, squeezing the trigger at the same time.

Gaston Deling never saw the bullet that killed him coming. It shot clean through the window and hit him between the eyes. His head _exploded _in a shower of dark red blood, brain matter and white chips of bone. Gaston's decapitated body remained standing for the briefest of seconds and then he keeled over, blood pumping out of his neck.

"Oh that is nasty." Seifer commented, wrinkling his nose at the graphic result.

"Happens." Irvine replied as he stripped his rifle, showing no joy or sadness at the successful shot. "Come on, we'd better get out of here and back to Balamb. If you think you can hold a civil conversation with Squall, feel free to call it in."

* * *

Barranca stepped into Gaston's study where a crime scene examiner and a couple of detectives were examining what was left of the Director of the GIS. Barranca sighed in faint annoyance.

"That's a little inconvenient."

* * *

**Author Commentary: I suck, I know. Nothing can excuse how long this chapter took so I won't insult your intelligence by trying to explain. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. It didn't want to be written but I got it done and I'm very proud of it. I thought that sending Seifer out on a SeeD sanctioned job would be an interesting development and as it happens it's necessary for the direction I'm taking him in. We also got to see him interact with Irvine which we didn't see too much in the game. Offhand, the only time Seifer addresses Irvine directly is in Galbadia Garden at the end of Disc 2 just before you fight him. I also liked Seifer joking with Irvine a bit, because I may not like it but Irvine is a very charismatic guy. As for Martine hiring an assassin to discredit Squall and usurp his position; that strikes me as a fairly credible course of action. Remember when the assassination of Edea failed. Well Martine just lost his fudge and decided to burn everyone involved while saving his own pathetic hide. He's a political animal and as a rule guys like him and Squall do not play all that well together. I did tell you I would explain who the shotgun toting nutcase was and why he was out hunting down SeeD cadets. In the next chapter we should see some more fallout from the death of Gaston Deling and we'll also see people gearing up for the SeeD field exam. As for Barranca's mysterious plans for getting at Seifer, you'll have to wait a while until they are put into action and I hope it won't disappoint. Once again thanks to Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope you guys will keep reviewing and I hope to hear from any others in the future. I commend you for your patience. Until next time…**

**~Ally Todd**


	9. Chapter 9

**Preparation**

It had been nearly a month since the death of Gaston Deling and as far as Squall was concerned everything had turned out for the best as Gaston's replacement was very pro-Garden and was interested in forging an even closer relationship with Garden. During an investigation into Gaston's affairs it had been discovered that Gaston had ordered the raid on Balamb Garden as well as paid Martine to undermine Squall by any means necessary. Martine and three Garden Faculty members were currently on remand in a Dollet prison looking at charges of first degree murder. There had been some evidence that Garden had been involved in Gaston's death and the police chief investigating had wanted to charge both Irvine and Squall but the revelation of Gaston's extra-curricular activities had come to light and President Caraway had stepped in, shielding Squall and Irvine from Galbadian jurisdiction.

For Seifer, the last month had been interesting. For the duration of his time as a fugitive he'd expected that if he came back to Balamb Garden he'd be about as welcome as dry rot and the cadets and SeeD's who'd survived the Second Sorceress War might end up lynching him. However he was pleasantly surprised. Some threw him dirty looks and muttered under their breath, an expression of dislike the former Sorceress' Knight found slightly laughable. He suspected Zell's tangible hatred would boil over eventually but for the most part the inhabitants of Balamb Garden weren't giving him a lot of grief After a week or so Quistis had flatly refused to continue with the suicide watch, because as far as she was concerned Seifer was about as far from suicidal as it was possible to be. Seifer had also started to sleep in an actual bed and was beginning to get more used to it. He was also eating healthily and starting to put on some weight.

One of Seifer's favourite places to unwind was the training room. This was a large room on the second floor that had originally been built to serve as a dojo, where cadets and SeeD's trained in martial arts, usually Krav Maga or Muay Thai (kickboxing). Over time however it had been updated so that cadets could also train with melee weapons. Seifer stepped inside and noted how busy the room was. The SeeD exam couldn't be too far off so the cadets were busy whipping themselves into peak physical condition. Nearest to him two cadets were locked in a wrestling match. No more than ten metres away two cadets were fighting a vicious duel with fencing sabres. Seifer crossed over to a rack of barbells and selected the heaviest set. Then he discarded his jacket, lay down on a free mat and started heaving the weights up and down, growling with each push.

Across from Seifer Marie and Mark were sitting, watching Zann and Cassie beat seven bells out of each other in a boxing ring. Zann's size and his greater physical strength gave him the slight upper hand but Cassie was holding her own, using her speed to dodge and hit back before Zann could react, spoiling his aim and rhythm.

"I'm bored." Marie declared, standing up. "I need some entertainment. I think I should find myself some companionship."

"Well don't let us hold you back sis." Cassie called as she ducked a right hook from Zann. "Go on have at it and be sure to send us a postcard or two to let us know how it goes."

"It's no fun to go alone." Marie pouted outrageously. "Exercise some sisterly solidarity and join me Cass. I need a wingman."

"What are you asking me for?" Cassie replied as she and Zann took a break. "Last time I checked I had two X chromosomes."

"Come again?" Marie asked blankly.

"She's a girl." Mark explained patiently. "Females have to identical chromosomes in their molecular make-up, both denoted as X. Males on the other hand have two different chromosomes, one denoted X, one denoted Y. Basically, Cassie is saying that she can't be your wingman because she's a girl."

"Fine, Cassie will you be my wing woman?" Marie demanded.

"For all we know the field exam is tomorrow." Cassie replied as she climbed through the ropes and took a mouthful of high-energy glucose drink from a flask. "I think we should concentrate on getting through the aforementioned exam and not let our hormones run our lives. I know that's a foreign concept to you Marie but I for one think you might find it difficult to jump the bones of every lunk head that comes your way if you're dead."

"I'll be fine." Marie said stubbornly. "Instructor Trepe just taught me how to use three new Blue Magic spells and believe me when I tell you they'll all put any threat down permanently. I'm going to walk this exam."

"Pride cometh before a fall." Mark said philosophically, before deciding to act as mediator between the twins, mainly because Marie was looking like she was about to thump Cassie but also to give Zann a break from that role. "Cassie's got a point Marie. If you don't prepare for this exam you could get hurt. That said, I think we've prepared as much as we possibly can so maybe we can kick back and take a break for now. We can always continue tomorrow."

"See!" Marie said to Cassie with a flamboyant gesture at Mark. "Even Mark knows that we should have fun."

"I give up." Cassie muttered under her breath to Zann before addressing Marie once more. "Marie, I've lost count of the number of times I've said this but I'll repeat it yet again. You can go off and have as much fun as much as you want, just don't go expecting us to join in."

"Why are you such a killjoy?" Marie said before a movement caught her attention. "Hold on a second…now who is that?"

"That would be Seifer Almasy as you very well know." Mark said, following Marie's gaze and correctly guessing who she was looking at. "If I was judgemental type I'd tell you to steer clear. The guy has quite a reputation."

"I'm sure it's all exaggeration." Marie said confidently. "Anyway, everyone here has their problems but there are no problems a hefty dose of Marie Pryde cannot solve." Without another word Marie strode off, making a beeline for Seifer. She stopped next to him, adjusted her skirt to make it even shorter than usual and waited for him to notice her presence. After less than thirty seconds Seifer set the barbell aside and looked up at her.

"Friendly piece of advice," He said bluntly. "If you walk around with your skirt that short it won't be long before everyone starts calling you a slut behind your back."

"I've been called worse." Marie replied, giving him an appreciative once-over. "You're Seifer Almasy aren't you?"

"Who wants to know?" Seifer said as he stood up.

On the other side of the room, Mark, Cassie and Zann were all watching Marie's progress at hitting on Seifer. His resolve seemed to be a lot harder than most boys Marie went after and Cassie was beginning to feel a little uneasy.

"Do you think we should go over there and back her up." She said nervously. "I've always said Marie's libido will get her into trouble and this _is _Seifer Almasy we're talking about. Who knows how crazy he is?"

"I think Marie can handle herself." Zann said simply.

"I'm afraid I've got to disagree with you there Zann." Mark shook his head. "You haven't been here as long as we have and if you've heard half the things about the guy that I have you'd be worried. I don't doubt Marie's ability to put him down hard if he tries anything but she could use a little back-up." Without another word Mark strode off with Cassie in tow. Zann shrugged before grabbing his claymore and gun belt, buckling them on and following.

"Everything alright Marie?" Mark said as he approached, his hammer swinging by his side.

"Everything's fine." Seifer said as he clocked the hammer, Cassie's heavily modified M4 carbine and Zann's claymore. For some reason he couldn't quite fathom Seifer recognised Zann's stance.

"Is your name Marie?" Mark growled as he stopped less than foot from Seifer before turning to Marie. "Everything okay?"

"Oh everything was hunky-dory until you three stormed over mob handed." Marie said fiercely before turning to Seifer. "You'll have to forgive my sister and my friends. They're just looking out for me."

"I'm used to it." Seifer said before deciding to figure out why the way Zann was standing looked so familiar. "Have we met?"

"Kind of." Zann nodded but decided not to elaborate. Luckily Marie was on hand.

"You're probably not going to like this Seifer," She explained matter-of-factly. "But Zann and I were on the team that captured you in Esthar. Let me apologise for Xu electrocuting you like that. I was all for taking you conscious but she really doesn't like you."

"I see." Seifer nodded. "I thought you looked familiar…Zann is it?" He extended a hand to Zann who sighed before shaking it. Marie made the rest of the introductions and while Cassie shook Seifer's hand Mark simply nodded.

"So I'm guessing you guys are preparing for the field exam right?" Seifer guessed shrewdly. "Here's hoping you do better than I did. You're looking at the only person in Garden history to fail three consecutive field exams."

"Three?" Mark echoed incredulously. "Have you ever considered if you failed three in a row maybe a career in SeeD just isn't on the cards for you?"

"I did consider that now you mention it." Seifer replied evenly. "Then I decided that it was my fundamental lack of respect I showed for everyone and everything, not to mention a rather pesky disregard for orders." A beat. "But that's the old me I'm talking about. I haven't quite figured out what I'm supposed to do with my life right now but I think you're probably right. SeeD is probably beyond me but I'm sure I'll come up with something to do. After all, I have my faults but I also have quite a few talents that could come in handy."

"You sound like you'll land on your feet whatever happens." Marie remarked. "Anyway the real reason I came over was to see if you felt like getting a cup of coffee or something?"

"You mean, like a date?" Seifer asked, blushing slightly but still noticeably.

"No not like a date, a date." Marie clarified before turning on the charm that ensured no man could refuse her anything. "How about it?"

"Well, obviously I'm flattered," Seifer said slowly. "But I don't think it's the best idea. I don't know if you keep up on these things but I'm not quite flavour of the month with the powers that be in this establishment and associating with me won't win you any points. Between you and me, Squall Leonhart is exactly the type of guy to ostracise someone for knocking around with his rival, no matter how beautiful she is." He noticed Marie's eyes widen slightly. "Did I lose you somewhere?"

"Right around beautiful." Marie said. "Your argument would hold a bit more weight if I cared what people thought about me. Come on Seifer, it's just coffee. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well you've probably heard that I'm a bit impulsive and prone to lashing out." Seifer grunted. "Do you really think a caffeine buzz is the best idea with a guy like me in the equation?"

"Oh come on Seifer." Marie wheedled. "You've already called me beautiful and since when did common sense equal fun?"

"Yeah, probably should warn you, she's not used to being told no." Cassie told Seifer brightly. "So far, the only guys she's hit on who haven't budged are Zann and Mark."

"Alright, I'll think about it, okay?" Seifer wouldn't admit it, but he liked what he saw in Marie. She was clearly very fit and Seifer found her forwardness quite appealing. It also didn't hurt that she was a brunette. Unlike most guys, Seifer preferred brunettes to blondes and redheads.

"Well while you're thinking about it, maybe you can give us some pointers for the field exam." Mark suggested icily. "I know you've failed three of them but people say you can stand against the Commander so it stands to reason you know a thing or two."

"I don't know." Seifer said uncertainly. "The only way I can really help you is by showing you how I fight."

"I'll take you on." Zann said.

"I don't think so." Seifer shook his head vehemently. "You've probably got a Guardian Force junctioned, so you'll kick my ass without even breaking a sweat. You may have heard that I can stand against Squall but there's a reason he beat me three times back when I went mental."

"Don't sell yourself short." Zann said. "But if it makes you feel any better…" He withdrew a small sapphire from a pouch on his belt and tossed it to Cassie.

"There you go," Mark smiled. "Now Leviathan can't help him. You ready to fight him now?

"Doesn't look like you're giving me a lot of choice." Seifer sighed before picking up the Hyperion and unloading the magazine, emptying it and then reloading it. "I suppose it's just a swordfight you want?"

Word that Zann Zammera was taking on Seifer Almasy spread throughout the Garden like wildfire. Zann was considered one of the most promising cadets by nearly every member of the staff and a vast percentage of cadets and SeeD's. Seifer was more infamous than famous but everyone knew that he wasn't to be trifled with, nor underestimated. A large crowd gathered to watch, Squall and Quistis among them.

"Whose idea was this?" Squall asked.

"I think it was Zann's actually." Quistis replied. "I must admit, I'm interested in seeing how Zann deals with Seifer."

Zann was standing in one corner of the ring as Seifer clambered through the ropes and drew the Hyperion. He afforded Zann's claymore an appraising glance. At first glance it seemed slightly cumbersome but Seifer was no fool and he knew Zann wouldn't have got very far if he wasn't highly skilled with his weapon of choice. Zann pulled off his uniform jacket revealing a black tank top stretched over well defined pectorals before adopting a combat stance, feet apart and centre of gravity low. He rested his claymore on his shoulder, the flat of the blade against the side of his face.

"So how do we score this?" Seifer asked as he raised the Hyperion. "Best of three submissions?"

"We could do that," Zann said simply. "But what say you we do this the old fashioned way? First blood drawn from the torso."

Seifer digested this suggestion and the implications at what could happen. Best case scenario, he'd be kicked out of the Garden and possibly face criminal charges for seriously wounding one of the most promising SeeD cadets of the day. Worst case scenario, he'd end up being gutted like a cat fish. Seifer stole a glance at Squall and Quistis who'd moved forwards, but hadn't vetoed Zann's method of scoring. Seifer sighed and quickly skittered forwards, Hyperion at the ready.

Zann's claymore snapped forwards faster than Seifer had anticipated and turned his attack aside. Seifer quickly reversed his swing and came right back to the attack but Zann countered easily before launching his own attack, a series of thrusts and slashes that forced Seifer back a handful of paces. The blades crashed together and while they held Seifer threw all his weight behind the Hyperion and momentarily unbalanced Zann. Seifer didn't waste this chance and aimed a horizontal cut across Zann's chest. At the last minute Zann turned his body and the Hyperion only slashed a shallow groove across his bicep. Seifer backed up slightly, nodding approvingly at the blood on his blade.

Zann disregarded his injury and the blood tricking down his arm before charging towards Seifer and attacking tenaciously. It wasn't a wild series of random strikes; instead it was a measured and controlled sequence of powerful and well placed blows that put Seifer on the defensive. Seifer dodged and parried the attacks efficiently but he began to get a sneaking suspicion he'd bitten off more than he could chew. Zann was fast and he was strong and Seifer completely understood why Squall had chosen him for the mission back in Esthar. When the SeeD exam finally did take place, Zann would be a shoe-in for success. Eventually one of Zann's blows got through Seifer's defences and bit through his jeans, just above the right kneecap. Seifer staggered back, helped by a punch in the chest. Seifer seized the opportunity while Zann didn't have both hands on his claymore and disarmed him with a quick flick. Seifer aimed his blade at Zann's chest, hoping to end the fight there.

Zann however was reading a totally different script. He twisted his body and avoided the thrust by inches. Then he grabbed Seifer by his lapels and hauled him forwards, their foreheads connecting with astonishing force. White light exploded across Seifer's field of vision and while he was blinded he felt Zann bundle him aside. Then when his vision cleared Zann was facing him, claymore at the ready.

Seifer raised the Hyperion and regarded Zann warily. The more this fight went on, the greater the chance that one of them might get seriously hurt. Seifer briefly considered letting Zann win, to minimise the bloodshed. The moment he though that, something deep inside rebelled at the idea. He was still Seifer Almasy for pities sake, and Seifer Almasy would always do everything in his power to win any contest. Seifer hadn't forced Zann to take him on. He finished sizing Zann up and dancing forward attacked with his every ounce of strength he could dredge up. The Hyperion snapped forwards like a striking snake and met Zann's claymore with an ear splitting crash. Seifer twisted the gun blade around in an uppercut that Zann blocked before unleashing a whirlwind of fast, accurate and extremely powerful strikes that forced Zann backwards.

"There he is." Squall remarked quietly to Quistis. "I always knew the Seifer from four years ago was still in there."

Most full SeeD's, Squall included would've been had pressed to defend themselves against Seifer's berserker attack. While skilled, Zann was no different. It didn't take long for the fight to the end. Seifer faked a wide cut and Zann made to defend himself, opening himself up in the process. The Hyperion flickered forwards and the point raked across Zann's chest. Seifer followed it up by sinking a boot into Zann's midriff, knocking him to the floor. Before Zann knew what was happening Seifer was standing over him, breathing heavily with the point of the Hyperion less than an inch from his neck. After a few seconds Seifer sheathed his weapon and extended a hand to Zann. Zann took it and allowed Seifer to pull him to his feet.

Then, without another word Seifer climbed out of the ring, grabbed his jacket and strode out of the training room without a backwards glance. Zann meanwhile disregarded his bleeding chest and arm and climbed through the ropes before stumbling slightly. Mark and Cassie dashed forward to steady him but Zann waved them aside before sheathing his claymore and standing up straight, apparently no worse for the wear.

"It's alright, just a scratch." He said in response to Cassie's concerned expression. "I can report that Seifer Almasy knows what he's doing."

"He's not the only one." Squall remarked admiringly as he approached. "I must confess I'm impressed. There were moments when I genuinely thought you had the beating of him. I think you should get your injuries checked out at the infirmary, to make sure you're in shape for the field exam."

"I'm fine." Zann replied. "It's just a couple of scrapes and the blood flow had slowed down enough. As long as the field exam doesn't take place in the next thirty minutes I'll be okay."

"If you're sure." Squall relented, recognising the futility of arguing with someone as stubborn as Zann. He marched off leaving Zann, Cassie, Mark and Marie behind. Mark decided to break the silence.

"I guess we now know where Seifer got his reputation from." The big cadet grunted. "He was an animal up there."

"I don't know." Cassie was less judgemental. "I think the Commander was right. There was no shortage of moments there when it could've gone either way. Besides, I think Seifer's so called reputation is a bit unfair. He could've seriously hurt Zann if he was bad to the bone, so why didn't he?"

"Maybe because he was directly under the nose of the Commander?" Mark suggested waspishly. "I'm not saying he's the Omen in a trench coat but I for one will be keeping a close eye on him."

"That was weird the way he went off though." Marie said thoughtfully. "I didn't even get to give him my phone number."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Cassie had learnt that sometimes it was best to humour her twin. "He's met you now. He'll be back."

* * *

Later that evening, Squall was sitting in his office with Cid, Quistis and Xu discussing the final preparations for the field exam. They also just heard that a court date had been set for Martine in Dollet, and he and his co-conspirators were on remand in separate maximum security facilities excepting one who was in a secure hospital after a violent prison brawl. Squall had seriously considered sending the culprit flowers.

"I don't care how good Martine's lawyer is," Squall said with satisfaction. "They'll nail him to the wall."

"Personally I think it's a crying shame the Dukedom abolished capital punishment." Cid added a very ugly look on his features. "But enough about him. We need to discuss the field exam."

"You all read the briefing I sent you, I take it." Squall took their silence for assent. "Any thoughts?"

"I think it's brilliant actually." Xu said. "What you're proposing is exactly the sort of thing SeeD is for, discounting evil Sorceresses bent on Armageddon. I think its bloody brilliant and a perfect chance to make the world a little bit safer."

"Let's not get too carried away." Cid was more cautious. "Do you really think SeeD cadets can handle this? These people are particularly nasty and not to be trifled with. I know we have certain advantages that other fighting forces don't but we can't walk around like we're invincible."

"You'd think differently if you'd witnessed what happened earlier today in the training room." Squall said. "As you know, SeeD cadets have been spending as much time in there as possible. Today however, Seifer turned up and Zann Zammera challenged him to a swordfight. Seifer won, but it was about as narrow as it comes. If Zann is anything to go by, the cadets will do the job perfectly. After all, two of them helped us bring in Seifer, even if Xu can take credit for actually taking him down."

"I'm hoping someone will film that and show it every Christmas." Xu said smugly. "I see Jessica Biel playing me, what say you?"

"Off topic Xu." Quistis broke in. "Personally speaking I think Cid has a point, but that said, if anyone can deal with these people, then I'd say it's our cadets. In a few cases the field exam is merely a formality. I think we should do it."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it," Cid said, backpedalling. "But we'd be remiss if we weren't a bit worried. Remember what happened to that Dragon Squadron corporal who went in undercover."

"The time for undercover operations is past with these guys." Squall said. "We owe it to the family and friends of that soldier to avenge him, and I think direct action is the way to go. I also don't think we should form three man squads, but instead appoint a field commander for everyone."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Mark Astonol." Squall said immediately without a single iota of doubt. "He's definitely not meant for stealth operations, an occupation hazard of being nearly seven feet tall but his leadership skills are exceptional."

"Good choice." Quistis nodded. "Plus, he's got the physical presence to dissuade disobedience or insubordination. Simply put he's big and he scares people. I for one think the targets might take one look at his hammer and surrender."

"I doubt it but I take your point." Squall nodded. "I think we should start the mission as soon as possible. Put out a notice that there's a briefing in the lecture theatre and ten tomorrow morning."

* * *

"Right," Squall said, addressing the twelve SeeD cadets chosen for the field exam. "We don't have much time so I'm going to cut the crap and get down to brass tacks here. This field exam will take place in Timber, and it will involve taking down the Timber Freedom Militia, known as the TFM." There was an outbreak of whispering at this and Squall waited until he had the cadet's undivided attention before continuing. "Now for those of you who haven't been keeping up with current affairs the TFM are a very well financed and well-armed terrorist group in Timber. As their name suggests, their official goal is the liberation of Timber."

"That'll happen." Geoffrey Artanx muttered audibly.

"Their methods are not for the faint of heart." Squall nodded. "A Dragon Squadron corporal went in undercover and when he was found out, he was crucified in the middle of Timber, doused in petrol and set alight while he was still alive. The TFM claim to be a group of Timber patriots that think the Galbadian's have ruled Timber long enough. You might say they have a point but the problem is that these people are fanatics, and they'd kill the entire population of Timber, men, women and children if they thought it might help. They've bombed targets across Timber and Galbadia, abducted and executed influential people and it's only getting worse. For all we know they could get a hold of some nerve gas, weapons grade uranium or something nasty that comes in a test tube. You must be able to understand while we're opposed to letting that happen."

"Bad times." Marie Pryde spoke up. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"Requests for SeeD assistance have come in from the authorities in both Timber and Galbadia and we've decided to help. We could put someone in undercover but that is an unacceptable risk. We've decided the best way to deal with them is to engage them on our own terms. We'll enter Timber and wait for them to show their hand. Headmaster Cid has offered to dress up as the type of guy they might try to lift, complete with gold watch and expensive suit. We wait for them to make a move and then engage them. We know from past experiences that if someone fights back, the entire organisation will be down on them like a ton of bricks and when that happens they'll be up against you lot. We're going to smash their operation, which will involve killing as many of them as possible but be prepared. They're very well armed so you'll be up against small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, shoulder-launched missiles and the like. Civilian casualties are to be avoided but I know it's unlikely to go to plan on that score. Ever since the TFM surfaced a year ago, the townsfolk of Timber have started carrying weapons for self-defence so you won't need to conceal yours." Squall stepped down from the lectern and Xu stepped up.

"There are a few members of the TFM that'd we'd prefer alive." She touched a button and a photograph of a well-built black man in his late twenties, wearing combat gear appeared on the projector screen. "This is Maryk Kennedy. He's a founding member of the TFM and their principal bomb maker. He should be considered armed and dangerous. He's easily identifiable by burn marks on his hands."

"Do bomb makers get insurance for that?" Marie asked.

We'd like to talk to Kennedy but not at the expense of your lives." Xu continued, ignoring Marie and the hastily stifled laughter among the cadets. "Take him down, dead or alive. If things should get out of control Commander Leonhart and a SeeD task force will come in as soon as the code word is uttered. The code word is Irene. There are no teams for this field exam and Mark Astonol is the mission commander. You should know that the mission has been categorised high risk, so if anyone wants to drop out they can do so with no repercussions. You'll also have to make sure your affairs are in order." Nobody moved. "I think that's all you need to know. If you have any questions, approach myself or Commander Leonhart. We ship out first thing tomorrow morning, so I suggest you all get some sleep."

"That's it then." Mark murmured as the cadets filed out of the lecture theatre. "We're off to war."

"I don't know about you, but I'm psyched to be doing some good." Marie said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

* * *

**Author Commentary: As they go a fairly short chapter but fear not, the next one will be light on exposition but heavy on the action. You'll get to see the field exam and you'll also see Barranca put his plans into action and try to grab Seifer. I engineered the sword fight between Zann and Seifer to show what Zann can do and also that Seifer, even after all he's been through is a force to reckon with and a skilled warrior. I've also laid the foundations for a Seifer/Marie romance and while that might not win me very many fans among the Seiftis fan base bear with me. Quistis will soon have her own romance to deal with and can you see her getting wriggly with Seifer any time soon, honestly? I'm trying to get better at writing action so the next chapter may take a while, but as soon as I've posted this and had a shower I'll get right on it. I gave up alcohol for October so I plan to go out tomorrow evening to celebrate, and I openly endorse anyone who suffered as I did. I think it may have a lasting effect on me, which can only be a good thing. (I've had times where I've been one step shy of being a full-blown alcoholic). Thanks for reading this chapter (who spotted the Casino Royale and Black Hawk Down references). Thanks in particular go out to Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope you guys will keep reviewing and I hope to hear from any others in the future. Until next time…**

**~Ally Todd**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Field Exam**

Mark and his fellow SeeD's stepped off the train in Timber's station and, sure enough it seemed the citizenry had taken steps to protect themselves from the terrorist threat. Nearly everyone was carrying a weapon, mostly firearms but a few melee weapons as well. Two men were standing by the entrance to the station and their chests were bulked out by what could only be bulletproof vests. The abundance of weaponry was a boon for the SeeD force as they wouldn't stick out as much as they would in a more stable settlement like Dollet or Deling City. A few metres along the platform from Mark Cid stepped off the train and looked around, dressed up as a respectable businessman, exactly the type of person the TFM would try to lift. Cid headed for the entrance of the train station and started heading in the direction of the city square.

When they reached the square the SeeD team swung into action, and it was a testament to their training that it didn't look as if anything was about to happen. Most of the team spread out to close off any exits while Cassie headed up a fire escape to a roof, before unslinging her AW50 sniper rifle and screwing a silencer onto the barrel. Across the square, another sharpshooter took up his position on the roof. Cassie willed her racing heartbeat to slow down as she tracked Cid with her crosshairs. Whatever happened this was what years of training and study came down to.

Mark and Marie were standing together as the west side of the square, looking for all the world like a normal young couple, sledgehammer and rante notwithstanding. Their eyes were pinned on Cid who was nearing the middle of the square. As far as Mark could tell the TFM weren't aware of his presence but it couldn't be long before they took the bait and then all bloody hell would break loose. Mark reached into his mind and touched the Guardian Force of the Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur, ready to bring them forth should the situation call for it. Suddenly Mark's earpiece hissed and Zann's voice came through, sounding as ever unruffled, which was ironic based on what he was saying.

"I've got a positive ID on Maryk Kennedy." He said. "He just walked right past Geoff and I. Do you want us to lift him?"

"Hold you position and keep him in sight." Mark replied as he squeezed the shaft of his hammer comfortingly. "Don't make a move until they try to grab the Headmaster. When that happens, use necessary force to take him down but try not to kill him unless he tries to kill you."

"Got it," Zann replied.

As Mark kept his eyes on Cid two rough looking men moved in the direction of Kennedy, pulling out pistols as they went. Cid shot a quick look at Mark before Kennedy advanced quickly towards him, pulling out a pistol and aiming it at Cid.

"You!" He shouted aggressively in his thick Timber accent. "Nice watch! Hand it over, and your wallet."

"Standby," Mark said tensely as Cid quickly surrendered before the other two men bundled him to the ground, one pulling out a cloth and a bottle of chloroform. As Kennedy pinned Cid to the ground Mart tensed. "Standby…and go!"

The man with the chloroform was just moving in on Cid when a bullet from Cassie tore through his skull, killing him instantly. As Kennedy looked around the second man was also killed and suddenly the cadets erupted into the square. Kennedy reacted quickly and grabbed a whistle from around his neck. As he blew it, several heavily armed men erupted from nearby buildings and the entire square erupted in a storm of gun fire. The SeeD teams hadn't expected a war but within seconds they found themselves in the middle of one. A man fired a shotgun blast into Mark, but his Guardian Forces took the brunt of the damage and Mark swung his sledgehammer in an uppercut that snapped the man's head back a lot further than his neck bones could handle. While Marie disposed of another two men with her Blue Magic Homing Laser the SeeD cadets who specialised in firearms managed to find cover and started returning fire.

As Mark lit up a machine gun toting man with a Fire spell he caught sight of Kennedy moving towards an exit from the square, gun in hand.

"He's making a run for it!" Mark radioed urgently. "Zann, Geoff get after him!"

All credit to Kennedy he very quickly realised that he was being pursued and Geoff ducked as Kennedy's shot blew a fist sized chunk out of the wall directly above him. Zann ripped out his Desert Eagle and fired at Kennedy's legs, trying to slow him down but missed. Luckily, it seemed Kennedy would try to outrun his pursuers rather than kill them. He took to his heels down the alley while the two SeeD cadets hared after him, intent on bringing the bomb maker down, dead or alive.

Kenney exploded out of the alley and sprinted towards a house near the train station. The door opened before he got there, and two men carrying assault rifles dragged him inside before opening fire on Zann and Geoff as they appeared. Luckily for the cadets, Geoff had cast a Protect spell on them both and the bullets didn't penetrate. Zann dropped one of the rifle carrying men with a headshot before Geoff shoulder blocked the other, knocking him to the ground where the cadet stomped his throat in. Then Zann barged the door to the house open in pursuit of their quarry.

The upstairs bedroom of this house overlooked an alleyway that led to the TV station but Kennedy was no fool and had no desire to be trapped, so instead of dropping into the alley, he threw the window wide open and took a running jump. He was able to catch the guttering on the opposite building and pulled himself onto the roof before sprinting off without a backwards glance.

Zann briefly contemplated shooting Kennedy to end the chase but Geoff copied Kennedy and continued the pursuit. Zann shrugged and also jumped, catching the edge of the roof and following Kennedy and Geoff over the rooftops of Timber.

"Always on the move!" He grumbled.

Back at the square, Mark was beginning to think they'd maybe underestimated enemy numbers. While none of the cadets had been killed yet, a few had been injured and while the square was littered with TFM corpses, there seemed to be an inexhaustible supply of hired guns appearing from every nook and cranny. As Mark moved to the relative safety of a fishmongers a man dropped from the overhead balcony, landing behind Mark and brandishing a machete. The SeeD cadet spun fast and hit his would be attacker in the chest with a hammer blow. The man was taken off his feet and thrown into a fish freezer. Mark didn't wait to see if the man survived the blow. Instead he slammed the freezer door shut, locked it and set the thermostat to fifty degrees below zero.

"Out cold." Mark remarked before scooping up the machete and getting a feel for it. Then he charged towards the nearest terrorist, machete in one hand sledgehammer in the other. The man saw him coming, after all Mark was hard to miss and he put three bullets into the cadet's chest. Thanks to his junctions Mark barely slowed at all, his hands wind milling. The terror struck man about faced and retreated but Mark ploughed into him all the same.

It was pretty much a given that the TFM would figure out where the sniper fire was coming from and send someone to deal with them. Cassie was just lining up her next shot when she heard a sound behind her and looked over her shoulder to see a man carrying a handgun and a full size samurai sword leering at her.

"I think you've done enough damage." He growled. "Pity I can't have some time with a sexy young thing like you."

Cassie's response was to swing her sniper rifle around and pull the trigger, shooting the man through the mouth at point blank range. He collapsed over and Cassie quickly dismantled her rifle, stowed it in her rucksack before pulling out her M4 carbine, complete with red dot sights and under barrel grenade launcher. She crawled to the edge of the roof and noticed a prime target. Three men were advancing towards Marie. Cassie lined up her sights and dropped the first man with a well-placed burst. While his comrades looked around in confusion Cassie pulled the trigger on her grenade launcher blowing her sisters assailants to kingdom come. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Marie waved her thanks to her sister before sighting on a thick concentration of terrorists and focusing her mind. Most people would've thrown a grenade but Marie was not most people and she had something else in mind. Marie stood up, exposing herself to gun fire but trusting the Guardian Force Shiva to protect her. A glowing ball of energy began to form in front of the cadet and suddenly a slender amber beam struck the ground in the middle of the terrorists. Then the terrorists vanished in an explosion of epic proportions. In the blink of one flame filled eye, nearly ten men were incinerated while several others were grievously injured. The "Ray Bomb" was most well known as the primary armament of the Galbadian Black Widow war machine, but skilled Blue Mages could also utilise it at will. It also inflicted a crippling psychological blow.

"That's it!" Mark bellowed appreciatively as the terrorists retreated, firing randomly over their backs. "Let's get after them! We're here to destroy their operation, and that's what we're going to do!"

It was easier said than done however, because as they moved through the alleyways and streets they found themselves coming under fire from not only the terrorists but local sympathisers as well. That said, this was the sort of battle SeeD forces were trained for day in, day out and the cadets had been instructed to bring firearms along in case something like this happened. The melee weapons were stowed and the cadets started to return fire with a vengeance, mainly using UMP 45 submachine guns or Glock 18 machine pistols. Cassie was leading the way, using her heavier firepower to soften up the targets.

"I wonder how Zann and Geoff are doing." Marie wondered aloud as she and Mark used their weapons to cut a pair of terrorists off a nearby balcony.

* * *

Zann and Geoff were both very young and fit, while Kennedy was in his middle ages and his lifestyle, not to mention liking for cigarettes and tequila meant the rooftop chase was not as easy for him as it was for his pursuers. Despite this however, he was able to open a substantial lead thanks to his fellow terrorists who were very happy to protect him by taking pot shots at the SeeD cadets. This meant that Zann and Geoff had to dispatch their assailants every so often while Kennedy kept running.

"How many of these guys are there?" Geoff panted as he immolated the latest sniper will a well-placed ball of flame.

"Too many," Zann replied, eyeing Kennedy's receding form with distaste. "I'm beginning to think we should put a round in his leg. If we were supposed to take him alive but it'd be a different matter but the powers that be wanted him alive _or _dead."

"You do know that you can be dead inside three minutes no matter where you're shot if the bullet hits an artery." Geoff replied as they leapt across to another rooftop. "I think we should try to bring him in alive."

"If we don't slow the bastard down, we won't bring him in at all." Zann replied before cursing as a bullet smashed into a chimney pot to the left of his head. He dove flat and ripped out his Desert Eagle. "Did you see where the shot came from?"

"No." Geoff shook his head before tensing himself. "Right, see if this helps."

Geoff leapt to his feet and immediately sprinted to the edge of the roof before leaping across and taking cover behind a generator. Several bullets slammed into it but failed to penetrate. Geoff's manoeuvre had done the trick though as Zann had gotten a bead on the sniper. The man was too far away for Zann to use his Desert Eagle so he sighed in annoyance and decided magic was the only thing for it. Zann didn't like to use magic but that didn't mean he couldn't. A lightning bolt fell out of the sky and reduced the sniper to little more than a blackened scorch mark. Then Zann was up and running after Geoff who in turn was pursuing Kennedy.

After another ten minutes, Kennedy decided that running across rooftops wasn't working and it was time to go to ground. He headed for a fire escape and was just about the start climbing down when a bullet struck the ladder and ricocheted upwards, tearing into Kennedy's thigh. The bomb maker howled in agony. A bullet that ricocheted didn't have the explosive force of a clean shot but it was still nothing to be sniffed at. Still, Kennedy's love for freedom overruled the pain and he started to climb down the ladder. He reached the street below and fired a couple of warning shots at the top of the ladder that might keep his pursuers back for a few precious seconds.

Zann and Geoff had decided not to follow Kennedy down to street level but they remained on the rooftops on either side of the street the bomb maker was limping down, their eyes pinned on him.

"You can run but you can't hide." Geoff murmured confidently.

"He seems to be slowing a little." Zann noted. "Maybe it's his wound or maybe he thinks he's lost us. If it is the latter Geoff, be a dear and disabuse him of that notion."

"Wilco." Geoff said as he pulled out one of his throwing knives and without a beat, launched it. It scorched downwards like a heat seeking missile and clattered off the brickwork next to Kennedy's head. The bomb maker leapt nearly a foot in the air and spinning around opened fire in the direction the knife had come from. Geoff however was far too quick and he stepped out of the way of the bullets.

While Kennedy was preoccupied with trying to kill Geoff, Zann leapt off the roof. Usually a four storey drop would result in a broken leg but Zann had the Guardian Force Leviathan protecting him. He hit the ground more or less on his feet, dropping down onto one knee and pulling out his gun as he rose. He was moving towards Kennedy when a rifle butt smashed into the back of his head. Had it not been for Leviathan Zann would've been knocked cold and ended up with a fractured skull. Instead he fell to his knees, coloured lights exploding in his vision. He tried to get to his feet but was roughly shoved back down again.

"Nice try, but we're not your average terrorist group." A voice said, dripping with hatred as something cold and metallic touched the back of Zann's head. "It'll take more than a band of rent-a-cop SeeD's to take us out."

Geoff however had not been just standing by idly and he'd seen Zann's predicament. He pulled out a knife and started gauging angles and distances. He launched the knife and it hit Zann's assailant in the neck, knocking him off his feet and ensuring death. Geoff watched with satisfaction as the man fell…and then became aware of a shooting pain in his chest. He looked down and was bewildered to see his whole chest turning scarlet. Then he realised that in saving Zann's life he'd exposed himself to Kennedy's line of fire and taken nine armour piercing rounds in the chest. There were something's even a Guardian Force couldn't protect you from.

Geoffrey Artanx, knife thrower extraordinaire and aspiring SeeD cadet collapsed to his knees and then pitched forwards and fell four stories to the ground, landing with a wince inducing thud. Kennedy spun around and sprinted off down another alleyway but Zann only had eyes for his stricken team mate.

"Geoff!" He roared as he crouched next to him, started calling up healing magic and pulling out medicine. "Stay with me man! You're going to be fine!"

"No I'm not." Geoff sighed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. In spite of everything Zann found himself marvelling at Geoff's self-control given he only had seconds to live. "I'm dead already Zann. Remember your training. If one of us goes down, we call it in and we move on, that's it. Kennedy's getting away. Get after him, oh and I think this might help." With the last of his strength Geoff extracted a jet black stone from a belt pouch and pressed it into Zann's palm. As Zann felt the presence of the Guardian Force Diablos enter his mind, Geoff smiled and closed his eyes. Zann got to his feet and touched his radio.

"Man down." He said tonelessly before spinning around and heading after Kennedy, now with two Guardian Forces enhancing his speeds. "You're not getting away from me motherfucker!"

Zann soon caught up with his quarry but Kennedy clearly wasn't in the mood to come quietly and he fired twice at Zann. Zann dodged one bullet and took the other in his shoulder. It hurt but his Guardian Forces ensured it didn't do any serious damage. Zann came forwards like a man possessed and Kennedy's nerve failed him. The look on Zann's face made it clear the last thing on his mind was a friendly chat. The bomb maker turned tail and ran but Zann was after him in a flash. He rugby tackled Kennedy and bundled him to the floor of the alley. Kennedy scrambled away and swung his gun towards Zann… whom severed his arm at the elbow with a sweep of his claymore. Kennedy screamed in agony.

"You can hurt; good to know." Zann observed grimly as he stood over his victim, claymore dripping gore. "Now I have a novel way of dealing with people like you, but for now, I think a good and proper beating is in order."

"You don't have to do this." Kennedy pleaded.

"Oh but I think I do, and seeing as I'm the one with all my limbs still attached, what I say goes." Zann sheathed his claymore and stared down at Kennedy, no mercy in his expression. "Geoff Artanx sends his regards."

With that Zann laid into Kennedy with both fists, targeting his weak points with pin point accuracy and astonishing force. It wasn't an anger fuelled beating though as Zann was in perfect control, ever the professional. Kennedy however was screaming his head off; obviously he didn't appreciate Zann's consideration. Within seconds, the bomb maker was a quivering, bloody hulk of agony. He was still conscious though, exactly as Zann had intended. He grabbed Kennedy by the back of his combat jacket and forced him to his feet. Then, placing the claymore across his prisoner's throat he manhandled him out of the alley and into a busy shopping precinct.

"Don't do this!" Kennedy squeaked, obviously guessing what Zann had in mind.

"Shut up." Zann shook him roughly before raising his voice. "Can I have your attention please? People of Timber, I am Zann Zammera and this is Maryk Kennedy. Who I am, is unimportant. Who Mister Kennedy is, that's another matter. He is the man who built the bombs that have been going off in your city recently. Why don't you show him your appreciation?" He bundled Kennedy to the ground in front of a decidedly unimpressed looking crowd. "Goodbye Kennedy. I'll see you in hell."

* * *

Truth be told, the assassination of Gaston Deling had been inconvenient but not exactly disastrous, at least as far Barranca was concerned. He'd arrived at that conclusion when he discovered that before he'd been killed Gaston had made good on his promise to get Barranca the "equipment" needed to apprehend Seifer Almasy. Personally Barranca was hoping it wouldn't come to this but if he had to spill some blood so be it. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few struck him as a phrase that was rather apt at this juncture.

Displaying remarkable stealth, Barranca managed to make it towards the entrance of Balamb Garden without being detected. He strolled nonchalantly towards the entrance (and the armed guards) with his hands in his pockets, his posture betraying him as a man in perfect control. He was less than ten metres away when the guard raised their weapons and ordered him to stop. Barranca continued walking forwards until he was less than two metres away.

"Good evening gentlemen," He said brightly. "I wonder if you could help me. I'm looking for a man that I believe currently resides in this building. He uses a gun blade and…"

"Commander Leonhart is not here." One guard said coldly. "If you leave your name with us we'll make sure he knows you were here or you can try again at a later date. Either way, we're not letting you in right now."

"Who said I was looking for Squall Leonhart?" Barranca asked pleasantly. "The man I am interested in is less venerated but infinitely more valuable. Give me Seifer Almasy and I'll be on my way. Fail and I regret to inform you I'll have to take him. You can't stop me."

"I think you'll find we can." Another guard said as all four raised their weapons to point at Barranca. "If you walk away we'll pretend this conversation didn't happen. We don't want to hurt you; it would mean a lot of tedious paperwork."

"You know, I don't see this being settled through reasoned discussion." Barranca observed before raising a hand. "Let me say in advance I'm truly sorry it has to be this way." He snapped his fingers.

For a handful of slow ticking seconds there was total silence. Then, with no warning whatsoever there was a deafening, screeching roar overhead that would chill the blood of anyone who was familiar with the various vocalisations made by monsters all over the world. The foremost guard looked up as a shadow fell across him, followed by an enormous mass of red and orange scales that trampled him underfoot. Two of the other guards were frozen but the other raised his weapon and was immolated instantly as a second Ruby Dragon landed and spat a ball of flame at him. The remaining two guards didn't suffer much better treatment. Barranca sighed regretfully and clicked his fingers again.

The Ruby Dragons obeyed instantly and smashed their way into the Garden in search of humans to kill, roast and eat. Barranca waited two minutes before whipping out a gun and sighting on the second floor emergency escape. He pulled the trigger and a piton attached to a long length of wire shot out. Embedding itself in the wall above the door. Barranca climbed up and examined the door. It was locked but Barranca wasn't unduly worried. He pulled out his revolver and extracted a single bullet and prised it open. He poured the gunpowder within into the lock and then struck a match that he also slid into the lock. A few seconds later the burning gunpowder had eaten through the lock and Barranca pulled the door open.

When he walked inside there was no one in sight, but an alarm was howling, no doubt thanks to the Ruby Dragons that were providing the ultimate distraction. Barranca could hear gun fire and the tell take shrieking roars of the beasts. He started walking down the hallway towards the elevator when a door opened behind him and two SeeD's in uniform appeared, one carrying a halberd the other wielding twin handguns appeared. Barranca spun around to face them.

"Who are you?" The female SeeD asked cocking her pistols.

"Who are you?" Barranca replied, surreptitiously sliding his hand into his jacket and closing his fingers around the handle of his revolver.

"I asked first." The SeeD said.

"What are you, twelve?" Barranca quipped. "Say, those lovely Guardian Forces you SeeD types use, you wouldn't happen to have a couple junctioned at this moment in time would you?"

"Not that it's any of your business but no we don't." The male SeeD said.

"Good." Barranca said before pulling out his revolver and honouring both SeeD's with a headshot apiece. They dropped and Barranca spared their bodies a regretful glance as he reloaded. "Sorry about that."

"Believe me you're going to be a lot sorrier when I'm through with you." Another voice said behind Barranca who turned slowly to see a female cadet facing him. One of his eyebrows went up just noticeably as he took in the raven hair, brown eyes and invisible but still noticeable aura of power.

"Rinoa Heartilly, it's a pleasure." He said, bowing slightly to her. "My name is Aloysius Barranca and I've wanted to meet you for a long, long time. I've been around for quite a while but I've never seen what a Sorceress can do. I would appreciate it if you could favour me with a demonstration?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Rinoa replied before glancing at the dead SeeD's. "Why did you kill them?"

"I suspected they might try to hinder me." Barranca explained. "You see Miss Heartilly; I didn't just drop by for the hell of it. I am here with a purpose. There is a man here I am very interested in abducting. Maybe you'd heard of him? Seifer Almasy."

"Seifer's been very popular recently." Rinoa murmured.

"Of course you're referring to the assault on Balamb Garden by the Galbadian Special Forces." Barranca remarked. "I must inform you that Gaston Deling ordered that attack at my behest and when it failed I decided to take matters into my own hands, hence the two Ruby Dragons on the rampage downstairs." Then Barranca snapped his revolver up and fired a shot at Rinoa.

If the bullet had made contact it probably would've taken Rinoa's head off at the shoulders but it stopped dead in mid-air, inches from Rinoa's face. Then it winked out of existence altogether.

"You'll have to do better than that." Rinoa said.

"Nice parlour trick." Barranca nodded appreciatively. "Look Miss Heartilly, I'm going to level with you. I didn't come here to get into it with you so step aside and I'll grab Seifer and be on my way and out your hair in a few short minutes."

"Yeah, that's really going to happen." Rinoa retorted sarcastically. "You don't seem to understand how this works. Most people would be insane to break in here and risk the wrath of Squall Leonhart. However, he's not here so you've broken in here and risked the ire of someone even worse."

"And who might that be?" Barranca enquired.

"Me."

* * *

While the TFM outnumbered the SeeD cadets by a considerable margin, they were simply outclassed and by the time the running battle reached the outskirts of Timber they were in full terror struck retreat mode. The SeeD's had started to use their Guardian Forces and the TFM were in no way prepared to deal with that sort of assault. Their numbers had been substantially depleted and now they were headed for a building atop a nearby hill overlooking Obel Lake.

"What is that?" Marie asked no one in particular as she scanned the building through a pair of binoculars.

"It's an abandoned hydro-electric plant." Cassie answered. "It was built around the time of the Galbadian occupation and continually blown up by a number of Timber resistance movements."

"I don't like it." Mark said decisively. "It smells like an ambush. I'm tempted to call in an airstrike to flatten the place but that probably wouldn't reflect particularly well on us. This is no ordinary battle; this is the most important exam of our lives. For all we know, this could mean the difference between passing and failing. Things haven't gone entirely to plan so far."

"Geoff's death wasn't your fault." Zann had caught them up after moving Geoff's body to the comparative safety of a hotel room and called for some SeeD members to pick it up. "It's no one's fault. He's yet another victim of terror so let's push on and finish the job like we're trained to do. It's what he'd want."

The SeeD team hefted their weapons and moved towards the target, Zann's words taking hold. Within a few minutes they were crouched in a long corridor that led into the plant properly.

"Cassie, take point." Mark ordered quickly. "You move forward and we'll be right behind you if things get lively."

Cassie gently pushed a door open with the barrel of her gun and found herself in a cavernous room with several decrepit generators and pipes; a perfect spot for an ambush. She was proven right almost instantly as there was a burst of automatic gun fire. Several rounds smashed into the wall above Cassie's head, showering the cadet with red hot fragments of metal. She disregarded the pain and dropped to one knee, bracing her rifle against her shoulder and returning fire. Her own shots were the signal for all bloody hell to break loose.

"Contact!" Cassie screamed, but her voice was drowned out as the whole room exploded in a storm of gun fire as the remaining militia opened up on her. Had it not been for the protection granted by the Guardian Force Siren and the timely intervention of her fellow cadets she would've been ripped to shreds.

The firefight continued for several chaotic minutes but the terrorists had picked their sport perfectly and were able to slow the assault right down. Mark was contending with the nearest man who was crouched and firing between a generator and set of pipes. Mark's bullets kept ricocheting off the cover and the SeeD cadet was beginning to get frustrated. Then, it clicked. If they were going to complete this mission and avoid anymore fatalities they had to draw the enemy out and take the fight to them. Mark decided to do both in one daring manoeuvre. After all, it was down to him to lead by example.

"Prepare to move!" He bellowed over the cacophony before leaping up and sprinting across the room. "Moving!"

Mark's borderline suicidal move worked better than anyone could've anticipated. His massive physical presence led to most people regarding him as a major threat and the remaining terrorists were no exception. As he dived headlong behind a huge and badly twisted metal plate nearly every terrorist opened fire on him…exposing themselves to a blistering hail of gun fire from the other SeeD cadets who moved forwards with a vengeance.

Cassie headed up a small flight of steps to a gantry behind a generator, where the man who'd fired on her first was still standing. He panicked when he saw her and lost a vital half second as he swung an AK-47 towards her. Cassie however kept her cool and dropped him with a single well aimed head shot. Then she pressed forwards, firing as she went.

Marie meanwhile was putting her Blue Magic to deadly use, mainly using the Aqua Breath and Ultra Waves techniques to flush the targets out of cover allowing her comrades to pick them off one by one.

Zann meanwhile had linked up with Mark and the two had headed deeper into the facility, using flash bang grenades to clear the rooms with deafening multiple blasts and the chatter of their machine guns. Both Mark and Zann hadn't reacted well to Geoff's death no matter how heroic his sacrifice had been and they were running on anger that was thundering through their veins like molten lava.

The team finally reached the final room and a brief but furious firefight erupted and after the penultimate man was shot the final terrorist dropped his gun and advanced out of cover his hands in the air. Once he was satisfied they wouldn't kill him if he was surrendering he dropped his arms. Then Marie pumped three shots into his chest from point blank range. Apparently she wasn't in a forgiving mood.

"What did you do that for?" Cassie demanded of her twin.

"We're here to kill them." Marie replied calmly. "For all we know that guy could be rotten to the core and in dire need of killing. He could be an ordinary guy just following orders but as far as I'm concerned we can't afford to find out. I know you think I don't do my homework but TFM members have form for feigning surrender and then setting off a grenade when we try to secure them."

"Marie has a point." Mark said firmly as Cassie opened her mouth to argue. "We're here to kill these people and in case you've forgotten they killed one of us. So let's get out of here and unwind before they announce who passed, maybe have a pint of two for Geoff. Sound good?"

* * *

Rinoa acted quickly and Barranca never saw her first attack coming. The Sorceress conjured a javelin comprised entirely of blue fire in mid air and it shot forwards, striking Barranca in the chest and rocketing him of his feet. As he hit the ground Rinoa followed up with an enormously powerful Holy spell. Holy was a pretty powerful spell as they went, and with Rinoa's Sorceress powers behind it, the blow was nothing to be sniffed at. Barranca got back to his feet and laughed as Rinoa advanced towards him.

"I must admit I'm impressed." He chuckled good naturedly. "I've always wanted to see what a Sorceress can do and you didn't disappoint. Now, let me show you what I can do."

Barranca streaked forwards with inhuman speed and was quite suddenly in front of Rinoa, as if the space between them had never existed. His left hand swung upwards in an uppercut that sent Rinoa airborne. She turned a full back flip before slamming back down like a body thrown off a skyscraper. Barranca streaked forwards and soccer kicked her in the stomach, launching her several feet away. Then he pulled his revolver out and aimed it at Rinoa's face.

"Please don't take this personally Rinoa." He said lightly. "I actually rather like you. I just like myself more."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Rinoa retorted before using her telekinetic powers to hurl Barranca off his feet and headfirst into a wall.

As he collapsed stunned, Rinoa got back to her feet and advanced. Barranca attempted to regain his footing but Rinoa floored him once again with a wave of her hand. Barranca growled in frustration and tried to crawl towards his revolver which he'd dropped. Rinoa summoned the gun into her hand and opening the chamber dropped the bullets on the floor. She tossed the gun aside and took a short run up before booting Barranca in the guts. She followed up with another kick under the chin. Finally a swirl of blue energy swept over her arms from her shoulders down to her fists, which had been transformed into gleaming chrome.

"There we go." Rinoa smiled down at Barranca. "Now I'm fairly certain I'm strong enough to beat you to death."

There was suddenly an explosion that shook the Garden to its rivets, followed by another shrieking roar from one of the Ruby Dragons downstairs. Rinoa was momentarily surprised and Barranca took full advantage. Ignoring the pain he surged to his feet, grabbed Rinoa around the waist and slammed her down hard on the floor. Then he seized the Sorceress by the scruff of her neck and waist and tossed her bodily the length of the hall. Then Barranca streaked forwards to stand over Rinoa. He pulled out a pocket knife and crouched next to Rinoa, his murderous intent clear.

"You don't want to do that mate." A voice said behind him. Barranca turned around to see Seifer standing there, Hyperion unsheathed and dripping with gore.

"Seifer, how corking to see you." Barranca chirped happily. "You're actually the very reason I happened by and set a couple of Ruby Dragons loose downstairs."

"You should really choose your monster henchmen more carefully." Seifer said, twirling the Hyperion with an ominous look in his eyes. "It was no mean feat for me to blow one of them to kingdom come, and as for the other…well SeeD members were converging on it and last time I checked they're trained to deal with those things. Now step away from Rinoa."

"Why do you even care?" Barranca sounded genuinely puzzled. "She's Squall Leonhart's bedfellow remember?"

"I know who she is, and I while I question her taste in men I'm not about to hate her for that." Seifer grunted. "Rinoa's done nothing to me in the grand scheme of things and it's against my newfound nature to just stand by while you gut her like a catfish."

"Well I think that's a reasonable course of action as she was hindering me." Barranca sighed. "But why dwell? You're here right now and we have work to do, you and I. I tell you what, come with me now and I'll refrain from causing Miss Heartilly any further damage."

"I'm going nowhere with you." Seifer growled before baring his teeth in a predatory smile. "If you don't like that, leave Rinoa alone and take it up with me."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." Barranca rolled his eyes before standing up and affording the Hyperion a glance. Then he held up his pocket knife. "Well it's not the size big guy; it's how you use it." Quite suddenly, the knife was gone and replaced by a long, lethal looking broadsword. Barranca twirled the weapon skilfully but before he could attack Rinoa chose this moment to re-enter the fray. She stood up behind Barranca.

"Hey guess what?" She said, bearing him aloft with her powers. "I feel better." Then with a simple flick of her wrist she hurled him the length of the corridor, through the fire escape and out of Balamb Garden. He eventually landed in the shallows on the beach.

"So," Rinoa said, turning to Seifer. "That was your friend Barranca. He seems nice."

* * *

**Author Commentary: I know this chapter was centred around my OC's rather than other familiar faces but it was a necessary evil. This chapter was pretty heavy on action and I think that's why it took me as long as it did, but that said, I seriously enjoyed writing it, especially the rooftop chase with Kennedy, Zann and Geoff (may he rest in peace). That was inspired in part by a similar sequence in the James Bond film **_**Quantum of Solace**_** and I knew something bad had to happen. As for Zann's questionable method of "dealing" with Kennedy, I know that if someone had been building and setting off bombs in my neck of the gloom I'd be first to join the lynch mob. Geoff's death will have some consequences in upcoming chapters. I know that Barranca said he wasn't a fighter, well he lied. It will be quite some time before I actually explain what his deal is and who he is but I hope I won't disappoint. What you saw in the brief struggle with Rinoa was just the tip of the iceberg where that guy and his numerous talents are concerned. You will also get to see some more interplay between Seifer and the others, including the long awaited Seifer/Zell confrontation. Standby for fireworks! Thanks for reading this chapter, especially Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. I hope you guys will keep reviewing and I hope to hear from any others in the future. Until next time…**

**~Ally Todd**


	11. Chapter 11

**Graduation**

It was extremely rare for a cadet to be killed during a field exam but it did happen and there were protocols in place for such an eventuality, as well as the one that stated that no official business, including the results of the field exam would take place until the fallen cadet had been laid to rest. A lot of SeeD's and cadets were orphans or had no contact with their families but Geoff was one of the minority with a stable family. Squall had expected his relatives to blame him or other Garden members for Geoff's death but he was pleasantly surprised to find that no one did, least of all Geoff's mother, a pleasant, softly spoken woman who was doing an admirable job of holding it together. After Geoff's burial in the Garden cemetery several people, including most of Geoff's relatives headed back to the Garden to have a drink in his honour.

Zann was standing at the bar, near a framed photo of Geoff in cadet uniform. He was just taking a mouthful of cider when there was a light footfall behind him and a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Geoff's mother smiling at him. Zann was not a talkative type almost to a fault, so he simply elected to stay silent while Mrs Artanx looked over to Cid who had just presented Geoff's father with a box containing some personal effects.

"The military takes your son and gives you back a cardboard box." Mrs Artanx observed dryly. "You're Zann, aren't you? You started around the same time as Geoff. He told us about you."

Zann was mildly surprised that Geoff had spoken about him as they hadn't known each other too well, but on the other hand Zann was aware that most people considered him a shoe in for a glittering SeeD career. He and Geoff had also been accepted Garden within a month of each other so it maybe stood to reason Geoff would have talked about him a little. Zann thought about telling Mrs Artanx that her son's killer had been tortured and lynched not to mention the part he'd played in facilitating it, but decided against it. She didn't need to know the ins and outs and she didn't need that sort of thing in her head. Zann was fairly sure his unconventional method may have an effect on his final grade if he did pass, but it was out of his hands now so he didn't bother dwelling on it.

"Were you on the operation where Geoff was killed?" Mrs Artanx asked, interrupting Zann's train of thought.

"We all were." Squall said as he approached, obviously deciding truth was not the best policy where a grieving mother was concerned. "Geoff didn't suffer."

"Good," Mrs Artanx smiled faintly. "I saw it on the news but there wasn't too much information. It was a successful operation, no civilian casualties?"

"Not that we know of," Squall assured her. "And we know quite a bit. Anyway, your car's ready when you are and if you ever need to talk about Geoff or anything else we'll always be here to listen. Once again, I am very sorry for your loss."

"Don't be." Mrs Artanx replied. "You didn't kill him."

About twenty minutes later, Irvine and Selphie started handing out glasses of single malt whisky while Squall stood next to the picture on the bar and tipped his own glass at it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," The Commander called out. "Please take a moment, and raise your glasses to Geoff."

While most of the SeeD cadets decided to head back to their quarters to grieve, sleep and await the results of the field exam, Marie was not among them. Instead she headed to the secret area with the very predictable mission statement of getting some "companionship". She was in for a bit of a disappointment however as it was completely empty. Marie simply shrugged and stood against the wall, looking out over the grounds of Balamb Garden. She wondered if her shooting of an unarmed surrendering terrorist would impact on whether or not she passed the field exam. Probably not, seeing as they were there to smash the TFM beyond repair and decisions made in the heat of battle were difficult to understand in the calm of an office.

Personally Marie was a little worried about how Mark would be handling things. Mark would probably be worried that losing Geoff under his command might lead to him failing the field exam, in spite of the fact that Mark couldn't have stopped it in the first place. In most situations Mark was a rock solid cadet and he had a sharp analytical mind that could polish off even the most fiendish crossword in minutes. That said, one of Mark's main shortcomings, some might say his Achilles heel was the fact that he let things play on his mind, and when the subject was the death of a fellow cadet it certainly wouldn't do him any favours. Marie was so deep in though she didn't notice a voice calling her name until its owner was right next to her.

"Seifer," She sighed as she noted the blond hair and scarred forehead. "I'm sorry. It's been a bit of an eventful couple of days."

"You'd be referring to the cadet who was killed on your field exam." Seifer said, stating the obvious. "Right, I heard about that. I hope no one's blaming themselves. Sometimes that's the way it goes."

"I think if anyone's taking it hard it's Mark." Marie said, deciding against her better judgement to voice her concerns. "He was in charge and losing someone under your command is a bit of a hard one to swallow. To be honest, I'm a bit worried about him. What do you think?"

"I don't know the guy so I can't make an accurate assessment," Seifer went on after a moments thought. "And even if I did, I'm not exactly a model cadet and therefore not the best person to ask. That's one thing I've noticed about this job. When an operation goes wrong, people get hurt and might come out of it with mental scars if they're really unlucky but all of those things are treatable. One thing that you can't treat is someone continually torturing themselves with hindsight. Does that sound like Mark?"

"Absolutely." Marie said. "Mark has always let things play on his mind. Do you think I should talk to him?"

"Depends." Seifer continued. "Answer me honestly. Does Mark have any reason to believe it was his fault?"

"None whatsoever." Marie shook her head whatsoever.

"That's it then." Seifer said evenly. "Someone needs to tell him that it's not his fault and he shouldn't blame himself. You guys have a dangerous job and sometimes, would you believe it, people get hurt. It's not nice and it's not pretty but it's a fact in what you do."

"You speak like we're totally different from you." Marie said. "Have you not considered training as a SeeD?"

"The last thing in the world I'd want to do is entrust myself to the tender mercies of Squall Leonhart." Seifer bit off cynically. "I don't know what you've heard about me, but when it comes to me failing three successive field exams, believe every word. Maybe it's just not on the cards for me."

"Then why are you here?" Marie enquired.

"I've been asking myself the same question a lot over the last few weeks." Seifer admitted. "Something tells me that the illustrious Commander has something in mind for me. I haven't a clue what it is but I'm prepared to bet it won't involve candy canes or bunnies. I don't suppose you'd have any thoughts?"

"Are you kidding?" Marie snorted. "You know the Commander better than me so you should know you'd need a world class psychic to figure out what he's thinking."

"Got to say I'm with you on that." Seifer grunted before turning around and heading for the exit. "I'll leave you alone."

* * *

When Squall had learnt what had transpired in his absence he had to virtually be held back to storming out and tearing the whole island apart, finding Barranca and doing something unpleasant to him, especially after he'd learnt about the two SeeD's Barranca had murdered. It had taken a while but Rinoa had finally calmed him down.

"Squall, it's okay!" She said firmly. "Barranca will keep for later. Right now, you've got other things to take care of."

"Right," Squall sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Xu, I need you to make arrangements for the funerals and contact the next of kin. Quistis, I want you to contact the intelligence services in Esthar, Galbadia and Dollet. Have them run the name Aloysius Barranca through the filters. As for me, I guess I'll announce the results of the field exam." He reached for the intercom and tapped the button. "Can all cadets who participated in the field exam assemble in the second floor corridor?"

Ten minutes later, the cadets were standing in the corridor, awaiting the results. Both Cassie and Marie were looking excited but a little nervous while Zann was furthest down the corridor, slumped against the wall constantly counting how many shoes he was wearing. Mark, as the squad leader was the nearest to the elevator and he looked more than a little nervous; in fact his normally dark skin was noticeably paler than usual. The sound of footsteps announced Squall's arrival. All the cadets snapped to attention and threw salutes.

"Stand easy." Squall announced. "First of all I must congratulate you on your job in Timber. The TFM has been effectively disbanded by your efforts. You all worked with utmost professionalism and efficiency. That said, it takes a lot to make SeeD and only a few of you made the grade. For those who didn't, this is not the end. You can always try again. If I call your name, you will head to the Headmasters office for the induction ceremony. Now without further ado…Astonol, Markus Astonol."

Mark couldn't have looked more shocked it he'd taken one of his own hammer blows to the face. He swayed alarmingly and put out a hand to steady himself against the wall before heading towards the elevator.

"Pryde," Squall called out next. "Cassandra Pryde."

Cassie mouthed 'good luck' to her twin and headed after Mark with a definite spring in her step. As it happened she needn't have worried as the next name called was Marie's, followed a blonde girl named Annabelle Rathbone. The silence after they'd headed off stretched until Squall spoke once more.

"Zammera, Zann." He said before waiting until Zann (who hadn't exhibited a discernible emotion when his name had been called) had passed him. "That will be all, thank you." He about faced and followed the new SeeD's up to the Headmaster's where they lined up in front of the desk and stood ramrod straight. Squall and Xu stood at Cid's shoulder.

"I'll keep this quick as I have things to do." Squall said as he ran his eyes over the five successful cadets. "Well done." With that, he marched out of the room without a backwards glance.

"Well done." Cid echoed before chuckling. "Don't take Commander Leonhart's apparent ambivalence to your success personally. Well done is the highest praise he knows. I think I'll try to do a little better so here goes nothing. Congratulations. You have successfully joined the most feared and revered fighting force in the world. You have shown the required skills in real life combat and from now on you will be sent all over the world, doing jobs other combat units cannot. I also feel you should know that had Geoff survived his injuries he would have passed also. Again, many congratulations." Cid turned around opened a drawer on the desk behind him. He withdrew five sand coloured berets.

The SeeD beret was a piece of headgear sported by all qualified SeeD's, usually worn at funerals or at other official functions. The SeeD insignia was woven onto the cap badge. Some SeeD's also wore them every day. Cid approached each cadet in turn and handed them a beret which they immediately put on.

"Remember," Cid told them with a tight smile. "It's harder to keep than to get. Now, I'll guess your classmates and friends will be eager to congratulate you. Dismissed."

Zann hadn't shown any outward surprise when he'd been made a SeeD but inwardly, the culmination of training and endless studying paying off gave him a feeling akin to a bomb going off in his head. Zann headed for his new room with only the faintest trace of pride and satisfaction on his face. He was looking forwards to having a new room, mainly because it meant he wouldn't have to put up with Mark's thunderous snores every night. When Zann unlocked his door the first thing he noticed was his SeeD uniform lying on the bed, in its cellophane wrapper. The second thing he noticed was the en-suite bathroom complete with power shower thank you very much. Zann draped his gun and sword belt over the back of his desk chair and stripped off his cadet uniform before trundling into the bathroom and giving the shower knob a violent twist.

Ten minutes and a scalding shower later, Zann emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist as he violently scrubbed his hair with another. He glanced at his clock and decided not to put on his uniform on yet, as he still had several hours until the graduation ball. He put on his underwear and was just pulling up a pair of jeans when a knock came on his door. He buckled his belt and headed over to the door, opening it to Cassie.

Unlike Zann, Cassie had donned her SeeD uniform the moment she set eyes on it. Cassie had always been a very vocal critic of the skirts female cadets were required to wear, calling them a "few inches short of outright indecency" and Zann wouldn't be surprised if she'd burnt hers. The female SeeD uniform also consisted of a skirt, albeit a more conservative, longer article that nearly reached the knees.

"Looking good." Zann commented as he invited Cassie in with a jerk of the head and pulled on a black muscle shirt. "What can I do for you?"

"Mark." Cassie said simply.

When they reached Mark's new room it was instantly clear what Cassie was referring to. Mark was sitting on the floor dressed in nothing apart from a garish pair of boxer shorts and a multicoloured bobble hat. He was currently convulsing in laughter, no doubt thanks to the empty bottle of whisky on his desk. Two Garden security guards were observing him (outside of hammer range) with a mixture of concern and exasperation. Personally Zann didn't think the guard's reticence to approach the drunken SeeD was well founded. Mark was clearly so plastered he couldn't stand up unaided, let alone attack someone.

"It's okay, we've got this." Cassie said to the guards who hesitated briefly before leaving. Zann and Cassie walked into the room and Cassie cleared her throat to get Mark's attention.

"Zann and Cassie!" Mark slurred before breaking into a fit of giggles. He controlled himself and jerked a thumb over his shoulder at some bags from an off-license in Balamb. "Drink?"

"No thank you." Cassie said calmly. "And you could do with not having one either. You smell like a brewery."

"But we're all SeeD's now!" Mark protested. "We should find Marie and Annabelle, and then we can all par-tay until the sun comes up!" He finished with a decisive hiccough.

"The sun is up." Zann commented.

"We're not partying at all until you sober up." Cassie told Mark fiercely. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Not partying Cassie." Mark told her happily before breaking into another fit of drunken giggles. "PAR-TAYING!"

"Give me strength," Cassie thundered under her breath before turning to Zann who was observing the proceedings with an air of polite detachment. "Do something Zann!"

Zann sighed, shrugged and walked into the room. Mark meanwhile had located a silver hipflask and managed to unscrew the top. Zann reached out and plucked the flask from Mark's grip and hurled it out the open window without missing a beat. Then he stepped over Mark, seized the off license bags and with a flick of the wrist sent them the way of the hip flask. Unsurprisingly, Mark didn't take that well.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" He bellowed, forcing himself to his feet and towering over Zann who was supremely unconcerned.

"It's for the best mate." He said before wrinkling his nose and grimacing distastefully. "Some breath mints wouldn't go amiss."

That did it. Mark's temper snapped and he lunged forwards, ready to give Zann one hell of a punch. Despite his drunken state it was a good, fast punch that would've taken most people out immediately. Zann however easily dodged the punch and dropped to the floor before scything his legs around and taking Marks legs from under him. Mark toppled over and before he knew it Zann was straddling him, using his legs to pin Marks arms to his side. After a couple of seconds consideration Zann clapped Mark hard on both temples, knocking him out cold. He rolled off the unconscious form and got to his feet before looking around the room.

"What are you looking for?" Cassie asked.

"Something to restrain him with." Zann said as he quickly checked Mark wasn't junctioned to any Guardian Forces. "I believe Marie's room is next door to mine and the doors open. Go and see if you can find any restraints."

"Why would she have…oh." Cassie said before dashing off and returning with a set of manacles, complete with faux leopard fur. She tossed them to Zann who cuffed Mark to the frame of his bed. Then Zann grabbed a glass and filled it in the bathroom before dumping the water over Mark's head. He regained consciousness almost immediately. He grimaced and tried to free himself but the manacles held. Zann suspected Marie had paid a pretty penny and maybe even had them custom made.

"Do you feel like being reasonable yet?" Cassie asked, taking the lead. "If not, I'll have Zann knock you out again so we can revaluate at a later time."

"What is this?" Mark demanded, sounding slightly more sober than he had. "Let me go!"

"I'm going to make an educated guess at why you've decided getting smashed is the best idea and you can tell me how close to the mark I am okay?" Cassie said before continuing without waiting for an answer. "This is about what happened to Geoff correct? You think that because he was killed under your command it's a sign of bad leadership, and that you don't deserve to be a SeeD because you didn't bring everyone home alive. How am I doing so far?"

"That covers a lot of it." Mark growled furiously as he redoubled his attempts to get free, nearly dislocating his elbows in the process. "Let me go!"

"Good, now we're getting somewhere." Cassie nodded before sitting down on Mark's desk chair and revolving slowly to face him. "Look Mark, we have a dangerous job and sometimes people get hurt, or killed. We work with weapons, we deal with killers and we accept the risks in what we do. Geoff knew that as well as anybody. If anybody is to blame for his death it's Kennedy."

"I'm more to blame than you are." Zann explained. "Geoff died saving my life. I was about to be riddled with lead but Geoff stopped the guy and exposed himself to Kennedy's line of fire. So you could blame Kennedy, you could blame me or you could just say Geoff was unlucky. The last thing anyone's going to do is blame you because you were the commander on the day. Now come on, have a shower, get dressed and come to the graduation ball tonight."

"No thanks, I think I'll give it a miss." Mark shook his head vehemently.

"Are you going funny on us?" Cassie asked. "You do know that everyone will take a dim view if our fearless leader doesn't show for the festivities. You should have a couple of drinks, dance, and maybe even take a run at some girls. What's your problem?"

"Look it's just not for me, yeah?" Mark said dully. "Everyone celebrating and laughing while Geoff is…I don't get the joke."

"It's not real laughter, it's just dealing with it." Zann retorted. "You know that. It will get better with time Mark. Sure, Geoff is dead and it sucks but we'll deal with it and it _will _get better. Or am I going to have to drag your arse to that party to prove it?"

"I'll walk." Mark decided before looking up at them pleadingly. "Now please get me out of these. If they're Marie's, God knows where they've been."

* * *

Seifer was in his own room, doing press-ups. The sweat was drizzling out of his hair but he'd only been at it twenty minutes. Back in the days before he went off the rails he'd do a lot of callisthenics, two hours in the morning and two in the evening. Seifer wasn't sure if his body could take that kind of strain yet but truthfully there was only one way to find out. He also suspected it wouldn't be long until Barranca happened by and tried to kidnap him again and Seifer felt a need to whip himself into peak physical condition before that happened. Seifer like to work out to a beat and he was contemplating getting some CD's of up tempo rock or rap music from the library when a knock came on his door. Seifer growled in frustration and mopped his brow with a towel. Then he crossed to the door and opened it to Marie, clad in her SeeD uniform.

"Hello," Seifer said, looking her over. "I'm guessing by your attire that you passed the field exam. Congratulations."

"Say it again, with even less conviction." Marie chirped as she sidled into the room and sat down on the bed. "You could make a bit of an effort to sound happy for me."

"I barely know you." Seifer grunted as he returned to his press-ups.

"That's not your problem." Marie replied. "I do hope you're not bothered by the fact that a girl has managed to achieve something you couldn't even after three attempts."

"That was tenuous." Seifer remarked without looking up. "You've passed the SeeD field exam, good on you but I'm not the type of guy who's going to jump up and down with you. Besides, if you want to get on in Balamb Garden and SeeD I'm the absolute last person you want to associate with."

"Squall wouldn't throw me out of SeeD for knocking around with you and you know it." Marie retorted confidently. "If you're about to tell me people might talk about me behind my back save it. I'm used to it."

"Because to the girls around here you're the devil incarnate, and to the boys you're a full fledged sex goddess." Seifer said. "I've heard about you and your overdeveloped sex drive."

"That's unfair." Marie pouted. "My sex drive is not overdeveloped. I just go with what I'm good at, and use what God gave me. Is that so wrong?"

"Okay I'm sorry." Seifer said quickly, getting to his feet once more. "I suppose there is nothing wrong with playing to your strengths, and even if there was, who am I to judge? You must have heard about my less than glorious exploits from four years ago."

"I've heard most of it." Marie nodded. "I built up this picture of you in my mind as some kind of fiery eyed tyrant who could turn water to steam with a glance but as far as I can tell you're just a guy who made some bad choices. Sure you'll carry around what you did for the rest of your life. You'll never forget it, and you don't deserve to. It should wake you up every night. It should haunt you every waking moment. And it will. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Seifer murmured.

"Because deep down you're a good man." Marie told him, looking him straight in the eye. "I've never stooped as low as doing the wet work for a megalomaniac bent on the destruction of all life but I have made mistakes and in the process I've learnt something. You never run out of chances for redemption."

"That's a refreshing perspective on the whole thing." Seifer observed. "But I don't think it'll cut much ice with Squall."

"It strikes me that the people around here aren't going to give you much of a chance to prove yourself." Marie went on forcefully. "Maybe you don't deserve it but I'm going to help you force Squall's prejudices down his throat regardless of how well founded they are."

"What's in it for you?" Seifer asked. "Wait…let me guess. I have to sleep with you whenever you want?"

"Play your cards right and who knows?" Marie said before giggling. "I'll let you decide whether you want to get to know me better, but I'm pretty sure you'd like it. That aside, I'll be like your sober coach, spotting you and keeping you motivated. What am I getting out of this? I get to prove to everyone that I have other talents other than jumping the bones of every lunkhead who looks at me."

"So you don't like being pigeonholed?" Seifer guessed before nodding. "I can see why that might get annoying."

"It's not that it's annoying," Marie clarified. "It's just that the guys around here are so preoccupied with getting into bed with me they fail to see that I have layers. I'll be the first to admit that I get to know a lot of boys, but that's not the only thing I'm good at. While we're on the subject, I came here primarily to ask if you wanted to come to the SeeD graduation ball with me."

"Do you want to run that past me again?" Seifer said hesitantly, after a long silence.

"What was unclear?" Marie asked pleasantly.

"The part where I go to the graduation ball with you." Seifer answered. "With Squall, myself and gratuitous amounts of alcohol all in the same place, do you not think things might get a bit out of hand?"

"I trust you to behave yourself and I trust the Commander to act professionally around you." Marie said. "I've checked the Garden Code and it clearly states that newly graduated SeeD's are allowed to bring another member of the Garden organisation to their graduation…"

"I'm not a member of Garden." Seifer cut her off.

"That's a technicality," Marie hurled back, unwilling to let Seifer get the better of her. "Look Seifer, I know you find me attractive, I've seen you looking at my breasts."

"No offence but when a guy does that, it simply means his eyes are open." Seifer replied stubbornly. "Marie, you're fun and really pretty but I just don't think it's a very good idea. It's nothing personal."

"I don't accept that," Marie retorted. "Come on Seifer, we're not planning the storming of an impregnable fortress. I just want to have some fun with my friends tonight and I want you to enjoy yourself as well. If you've been up to half the things I've heard in the last four years, you deserve some fun."

"And how do I know this is not just a ruse to add my name to your list of conquests?" Seifer arched an eyebrow.

"You don't." Marie smiled wickedly. "Just know this Seifer, I may be pigeonholed as a ravenous sex fiend around here, but I've never forced or blackmailed anyone into bed. If you want to sleep with me by the end of tonight, then great. If not, well that's okay as well. Now, it's decision time."

"It doesn't look like you're giving me much of a choice." Seifer grumbled. "I suppose I'll need a suit or at least something halfway formal."

"Afraid so." Marie nodded. "Usually the only people in uniform are male SeeD's. The girls prefer to get dressed up and while I guess you'd look alright in a ball gown I don't see it happening. If you're a little cash strapped I'll lend you money to rent a suit."

"Don't worry, I'll manage." Seifer sighed resignedly. "What time should I pick you up?"

"The ball officially starts at eight but I like to get to these sorts of things maybe fifteen minutes early." Marie chuckled. "Once when I was fourteen, there was this Christmas ball thing that Instructor Tilmitt put together. I decided to go for a fashionably late entrance, but I was too late and there were no boys left."

* * *

**Author Commentary: This chapter was actually quite difficult to write but I got it done (obviously) and I hope you enjoyed reading it more than I enjoyed writing it. I know it focused on my OC's more than it should have but again it was necessary. You may think that making everyone we care about a SeeD was a bit cheap but like with everything I write there is a reason and if you're very perceptive you might guess what I'm talking about. Suffice to say, this life is not for everyone. The scene where Mark was drunk was very hard to write because it's hard to write drunkenness and not make it funny. I know there were a couple of gags in that scene but it wasn't meant as comedy and I hope that came across. Mark will continue as a source of angst for our OC's. As far as out tortured protagonist goes I am going to build on Seifer's relationship with Marie because as far as I'm concerned they have a boatload of chemistry. It is also possible that the next chapter may become a little risqué but I'm not going into too much detail. You'll also be introduced to a minor OC but a familiar face will pop up and establish themselves as a major irritant. Guess who? As always thanks and hugs go out to my awesome reviewers, Dragoon Dave, Fabian B Shanks, forest owl princess and princesslolitatheorca654. Also, welcome to Sakura Lisel whom I suspect has a better grasp on Seifer's relationship with the others than I do. Finally, to all the Americans out there, happy Thanksgiving when it comes!**

**~Ally **


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